Arabi go down to Rifaa

Al Rifaa struck once in each half to beat Qatar’s Al Arabi 2-0 in the Gulf Club Champions League at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Manama yesterday.Abbas al-Asfoor scored the opening goal for the Bahrain side in the 42nd minute while substitute Mohammad al-Hallaq doubled the lead in the 59th minute.Their first win of the tournament saw Al Rifaa move to second spot in Group B with three points while Al Arabi slipped to fourth place with a solitary point. Saudi Arabia’s Al Ettifaq are on top with six points, and Kuwait’s Al Qadsia are third with one point.The hosts made a robust start to the game even before Al Arabi could find their rhythm. In the very fourth minute of the match, Al Rifaa’s Brazilian midfielder Vinicius Vargas broke through and went on to hit the crossbar.Buoyed by the charge, Al Rifaa kept attacking but were met with resistance. Their repeated efforts however bore fruits three minutes before half time when al-Asfoor slotted home on a volley after Vargas had back flipped a cross from Hussain Al Eker.In the second half, Al Rifaa substituted Mohammad al-Hallaq and he also soon paid dividends seizing on a chance inside the danger area to move right and past three Al Arabi defenders before striking to rattle the net. In the 68th minute, Al Rifaa almost scored a third goal but a forward stumbled over the ball after being in front of an empty goal. Substitute Abdulaziz Khalid, who came in in the 90th minute, also found the crossbar in closing moments as he floated one from the left.Al Arabi were off-colour and failed to make any threatening attack. They did make sporadic forays but lacked in finish. In the 66th minute, they earned a free from just outside the box but the attempt sailed just over.The third round matches of the tournament will be played round on November 26th and 27th. The tournament has returned after a gap of nine years since the last edition in 2015 when UAE’s Al Shabab emerged as the champions. This time, eight teams, divided into two groups, are competing on a home-and-away basis. The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.