Al-Riffa cruise past Manama in five-goal victory
Al-Riffa completed a convincing 5-1 win over Manama in the second round of the Premier League on Friday evening. The visitors made no mistake against a host side struggling for form, with goals from Rodrigo Yuri twice, an own goal, and strikes from M. Zachary, M. Abduljabbar and Taib Mezyani. By then the result was clear, and Al-Riffa put the game to bed early enough to avoid any drama at the end.
The opening goal came at the 12th minute when Rodrigo Yuri found the net, but Manama's hopes were quickly dented by an own goal from I. Abdulla just two minutes later. M. Zachary added a third before the quarter-hour mark, and Yuri completed his brace at the 30th minute. Al-Riffa extended their lead through M. Abduljabbar in the 75th minute, and Taib Mezyani scored in stoppage time to make it 5-1.
The statistics told the story of a one-sided afternoon. Al-Riffa enjoyed 67 per cent possession and registered eight shots on target compared to Manama's solitary effort on target. The hosts created 61 attacks but could only manage one corner, while the visitors recorded six. Manama collected three yellow cards, Al-Riffa two.
The result leaves Manama rooted to 11th place with just one point from two matches — a draw and a defeat. Al-Riffa sit second with six points from two wins, and they are running out of games to drop points before the season really begins. The gap between the sides has never looked wider.
Manama's recent record shows a 1-1 draw against Ali and a 2-3 loss to Al-Naja, while Al-Riffa have won their opening two fixtures 2-0 against Al-Ittifaq and 3-2 with Bahrain. This was a straightforward afternoon for the visitors, but cup football has its own rules when it comes to momentum.