Bahrain send Qatar home

Abu Dhabi: Bahrain reserved their best for last as they rallied to beat Qatar 2-1 at Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium yesterday.

The victory earned Bahrain a seat in the semifinals of the 18th Gulf Cup as runners up of the second group.

Bahrain collected four points from three matches, the same as Iraq, but scored more goals than Iraq. Bahrain had four goals and conceded as many, while Iraq scored only two and conceded two.

Bahrain's promotion to the last four stage raised a few eyebrows. They had lost their opening encounter against Saudi Arabia 2-1 and missed the services of two key players, who were sent off in that match. The troubles followed them as their German coach, Hans Peter Breigel, was sacked the following day.

Qatar, the defending champions, took the lead in the 18th minute when Khalfan Ebrahim, the AFC MVP in 2006, scored a brilliant goal off a beautiful move by Sebastian, who sent Khalfan clear inside the penalty box. The goal once again underlined the giants' superiority.

Fast move

Bahrain moved up and pressed for the equaliser, organising many attacks. Bahrain's captain, Tilal Yousuf, watched in disbelief as his fierce free kick beat Mohammad Saqr, Qatar's custodian, but rebounded from the upleft, 33 minutes into the game.

Tilal led a fast move on the left combined with Salman Eissa, who sent a cross to Alaa Hubail, who plays professional football in Qatar. The latter then placed home the equaliser in the last minute of the first half.

Bahrain started the second half from where they ended. They dominated the midfield and continued to press for the winner. Saqr made many spectacular saves until the first minute of the injury time. Abdullah Omar led a fast move on the left flank and crossed to Hubail, whose well directed header beat Saqr and sent Bahrain into the semifinals, while Qatar and Iraq were sent back home.

It was ironic that Qatar and Iraq were the favourites to win the title as Qatar won the gold medal of the Asian Games only last month, while Iraq were the silver medallists.