Article
WC Playoffs: Edge to Bahrain after Trinidad draw
PORT OF SPAIN, Nov 12 (SW) - Bahrain gained the upper hand in their World Cup qualifying playoff on Saturday, but Trinidad & Tobago did well to come from behind and earn a 1-1 draw.
Husain Salman gave Bahrain a 1-0 lead with 17 minutes to play when he headed in a corner kick, but Port Vale's Christopher Birchall hit a blistering half-volley equalizer just four minutes later to save some face.
Bahrain sat back in the first half, looking to defend solidly and catch Trinidad on the counterattack, but they rarely threatened the goal of Kelvin Jack and Trinidad's only real chance in the first half came close to the interval as Derby County's Stern John headed downward, only to have Ali Hassan make a nice save.
The match only really began to materialize in the 73rd minute when Salman got in behind defender Marvin Andrews and headed home a corner kick inside the near post of Jack who had no chance of keeping the ball out.
However, just four minutes later, the <i>Soca Warriors</i> got an equalizer seemingly out of nothing when Birchall's half-volley from 25 yards out was rifled into the top right corner of Hassan's net, re-igniting the party at the Hasely Crawford stadium.
With the away goal, Bahrain can now focus on their defending for the second leg on Wednesday in Manama.
Comments (0)