Doha: Bahraini club Al Riffa scored in both halves to secure a 2-0 win over Qatar’s Al Arabi in their second Group B encounter of the Gulf Club Champions League at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Manama yesterday.
Abbas Al Asfoor scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute while substitute Mohammad Al Hallaq doubled the lead in the 59th minute.
The win was Al Rifaa’s first in the Champions League as they moved to second spot in the group with 3 points. On the other hand, Al Arabi slipped to fourth place having only one point they gained from the draw against Al Qadsia.
Yesterday, the hosts almost took the lead in as early as 4th minute of the match when Brazilian midfielder Vinicius Vargas broke through and went on to hit the crossbar. Al Rifaa kept attacking but Al Arabi did well to resist their charge. However, that was only before Al Rifaa succeeded three minutes before regulation time of the opening half when Al Asfoor slotted home after Vargas had back flipped a cross from Hussain Al Eker.
In the second half, Al Rifaa substituted Al Hallaq and he soon made his mark by seizing an opportunity inside the danger area to move right and dribble past three Al Arabi defenders before scoring his team’s second goal.
Elsewhere, at the Mohammed Al Hamad Stadium in Hawally, Kuwait, Al Ettifaq strengthened their lead in Group B after defeating hosts Al Qadsia thanks to a goal by Frenchman Mousa Dembele. Dembele struck in the third minute of injury time in the first half, making full use of a penalty awarded to Al Ettifaq.
With this win, Ettifaq climbed to the top of the Group B points table, raising their tally to six points from two consecutive victories. They had earlier beaten Al Riffa 3-1.
The third round matches of the tournament will be played round on November 26 and 27.
