MUSCAT, DEC 9 - Mohammed al Rumaihi’s smart leg-flick put Bahrain in the elite list of winners ending their 49-year wait after the high-voltage final at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha on Sunday night.
Al Rumaihi, the main forward of a hard-working Bahrain side, delivered the difference between the highly-competitive teams with the winning goal in the 69th minute. The lanky 29-year-old forward who plays for Bahrain’s Manama Club also rewarded head coach Helio Sousa for keeping confidence on him by providing the breakthrough that landed Bahrain their maiden Gulf Cup crown.
Three-time winners Saudi Arabia missed an early chance to take lead as Salman al Faraj’s penalty effort in the ninth minute went out and Salem al Dawsari’s early shot rocketed off the bar.
The Green Falcons got the penalty after Salem al Dawsari was brought down inside the Bahraini penalty box by Mahdi al Humaidan. French coach Herve Bernard, who attempted to break the trophy-less run of Saudi, also could not employ any tactics that break the stiff Bahraini defence in the later stages of the match.
Finally, Bahrain have snapped the perennial beaten finalist tag after the 2019 win in Doha.
The Red brigade were beaten finalists in 1970, 1982, 1992 and 2003. The two teams had never met each other in the final of the tournament.
In the group-stage match, Saudi prevailed over Bahrain 2-0. In the semifinals, Saudi Arabia edged hosts Qatar 1-0 and Bahrain fought back to draw 2-2 at full-time and later went past Iraq 5-3 on penalties. The Saudi team have now lost in the final four times in the last six editions of the competition and have not won the title since 2004.
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