Green Falcons fall to defeat against Bahrain in opening Gulf Cup match

LONDON: It was an opening day defeat for Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup on Sunday as the Green Falcons went down 3-2 to Bahrain in their Group B clash.

The Bahrainis had raced into a 2-0 lead by half-time, thanks to goals from Mahdi Abduljabbar Mahdi Darwish Hasan and Mahdi Al-Humaidan.

Musab Al-Juwayr, who plays for Al-Shabab in the Saudi Pro League, got Herve Renard's charges back in the game with a goal on 73 minutes.

But Bahrain restored their two goal advantage with their third goal just three minutes later, as Mohamed Marhoon struck past Nawaf Al-Aqidi in the Saudi goal.

Al-Ittihad star Saleh Al-Shehri pulled one back from the penalty spot with five minutes left, but it wasn't enough to prevent defeat in the opening match.

Also in Group B earlier on Sunday, Iraq opened their account labored to a 1-0 victory over tournament outsiders Yemen.