Sport | Football
Bahrain stun favourites Iran with 1-0 win
Palestine whitewash Kuwait to make national history with a record-high 17 goals and seal a spot in the semifinals
- By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:01 February 24, 2010
- Image Credit: Ravindranath/Gulf News
- Marwa Abdul Karim and Yasmeen Fayez, both of Bahrain, attempt to foil Bayan Mahmoudi of Iran during the third WAFF Women's Football Championship at Armed Forces ground in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Abu Dhabi: Bahrain stunned Iran and beat them with a single goal that might be enough for them to reach the semifinals of the third West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Women's Football Championship.
Palestine scored a record 17 goals against Kuwait to reach the last four stages with the hosts UAE from Group B.
Iran were the favourites to reach the final as they had finished runners up behind Jordan in the past two versions of the tournament, while Bahrain have lost their opener in Group A against Jordan 4-1.
Iran defeated Bahrain 7-0 in the same tournament in 2005 in Amman, but on Monday night it was a different story. The Bahraini players fought like tigers dominating the midfield and organised some beautiful, fast counter-attacks which created havoc for Iran's defence, especially in the second half following a goalless first half.
Marwa Abdul Karim, of Bahrain, scored the all-important goal in the 73rd minute.
Iran fought back fiercely but Bahrain's defence kept them at bay, defending their victory until the end of the match.
In the second encounter, Palestine scored the highest number of goals in a match ever in their country's soccer history after beating debutant Kuwait 17-0, to avenge Palestine men's team defeat to Kuwait 6-0 three years ago.
Previously, the most goals scored in a match in Palestinian soccer was 7-0 against Taiwan some years ago.
Walaa Hussain was the top scorer of the tournament after netting seven goals against Kuwait and one against the UAE in the opener, while her colleagues Natalie Shaheen and Caroline Sohgian scored four goals each with Ayah Al Khatib and Nadin Owda adding one each.
Heading to semis
Palestine's big victory sealed a place in the semifinals for them before tonight's match between the UAE and Kuwait, as the hosts only need a single point to take top place in Group B and face the runners up of Group A in the semifinals.
Iran need a miracle and must defeat mighty Jordan to earn a place in the last four after losing to Bahrain.
Jordan, the reigning champions, face Iran in an early final of the tournament at 4.15pm, while the UAE play against Kuwait at 6.45pm.
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