Captain Abdul Azeez Al Sheikh’s powerful 12th minute header made all the difference as a youthful Bahrain rode out the advantage to down Cambodia 1-0 in the Bangabhandu Gold Cup Invitational Tournament at the National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday.

The victory took Bahrain to the top of Pool B with four points following their 1-1 draw against Bangladesh U23s in their opener.

Having lost to the Maldives 2-3, Cambodia are virtually out of the running for a semi-final slot, reducing their final group game tomorrow against the home side to one of academic interest.

Bahrain’s snap goal came off a good corner kick that was turned into the goal like a guided missile by the tall and athletic Al Sheikh, later named Man of the Match.

But it was young Mahboob Al Doseri in the Bahrain goal who proved the side’s tower of strength by bringing off several key saves on either side of the break.