Sharjah: Jamal Rashed’s penalty in added time secured Bahrain a 1-0 win over India to give the West Asians a great chance of advancing to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 knockout stage.
With United Arab Emirates and Thailand playing to a 1-1 draw, Bahrain finished third in Group A and will likely seal a place in the Round of 16 as one of the best four third-placed teams.
UAE won the group with five points while Thailand, defeated 4-1 by India on Matchday One, completed an amazing comeback to seal second spot.
India suffered early problems at the back when Anas Edathodika was forced off with an injury in the fourth minute and was replaced with Salam Ranjan Singh.
Bahrain turned on the pressure and came close when substitute Mohamed Marhoon looked to have scored, only for the woodwork to deny him.
India continued to repel Bahrain’s advances but finally conceded a penalty late in the game after Hamed Alshamsan was brought down by Pronay Halder.
Rashed made no mistake from the spot, sending Gurpreet Singh the wrong way as Bahrain claimed the three points.
