VIENNA: Bahrain's preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final qualifying round suffered yet another setback when Milan Macala's men went down to English Premier League side Stoke City 2-1 in the third match of their ongoing friendly series on Friday.
On the mark for the winners were Richard Cresswell and substitute Vincent Pericard while Ismaeel Abdullatif managed to equalise the score 1-1.
Bahrain had earlier lost to Czech outfit Sigma Olomouc 3-2 before suffering a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Bundesliga side FC Schalke.
Both sides came close to scoring in the first 30 minutes but it was Stoke City who proved to be successful with Creswell scoring from close range, slotting the ball into the bottom left-corner off a deflection.
Abdullatif restored parity just two minutes later with a powerful shot the goalkeeper had no chance of stopping but Bahrain failed to find the winning goal despite their best efforts.
A raft of substitutions took place on either side and one of these, Pericard, scored the all-important goal for the English club by heading in a corner in the 75th minute.
Next up for the Bahrainis are Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday before the team flies back home and the players link up with their clubs.
On the mark for the winners were Richard Cresswell and substitute Vincent Pericard while Ismaeel Abdullatif managed to equalise the score 1-1.
Bahrain had earlier lost to Czech outfit Sigma Olomouc 3-2 before suffering a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Bundesliga side FC Schalke.
Both sides came close to scoring in the first 30 minutes but it was Stoke City who proved to be successful with Creswell scoring from close range, slotting the ball into the bottom left-corner off a deflection.
Abdullatif restored parity just two minutes later with a powerful shot the goalkeeper had no chance of stopping but Bahrain failed to find the winning goal despite their best efforts.
A raft of substitutions took place on either side and one of these, Pericard, scored the all-important goal for the English club by heading in a corner in the 75th minute.
Next up for the Bahrainis are Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday before the team flies back home and the players link up with their clubs.
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