Bahrain opened their competitive campaign at the men's volleyball tournament with an entertaining victory in four sets (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 25-20) over Lebanon in their first round Group B match in the Al-Rayyan Indoor Hall on Monday evening.

They now go into their second fixture against Mongolia on Tuesday 28 November knowing that victory will take them through to the next round as group leaders. Lebanon defeated the Mongolians on Saturday 3-1 and will also hope for a Bahraini victory in order for them to stay in the competition by finishing 2nd.

With the lead constantly changing in a tense opening, it was Bahrain who held their nerve to see out the first set, and the game initially had the hallmarks of going the distance. Lebanon had to win if they were to guarantee their place in the next round, following their four set victory over group rivals Mongolia on Sunday.

The second set followed a similar pattern to the first as a late surge of points saw Bahrain prevail and establish a 2-0 lead – leaving the Lebanese with an uphill struggle to rescue something from the match.

In a tight set once again, there were no more than three points ever separating the two sides throughout, but although Lebanon started brightly, Bahrain proved the stronger to take four of the last five points when the set was delicately poised at 21-21.

Lebanon pulled themselves back into the match after a spirited performance, largely inspired by 35 year-old skipper Marwan Hosri, as they benefited from greater variation in their play to edge the third set 25-21.

At times Lebanon went for a direct spike, at others they played across court and, on occasions, they cleverly tipped the ball over Bahrain's lofty blockers in order to gain the advantage. And as the set came to its conclusion, Lebanon's Alain Saade was relieved to take the all-important final point just after netting his serve at 24-21.

Bahrain finally clinched victory by taking the fourth set 25-20 and the match 3-1. Although the set was well fought, as indeed were the previous three, the Bahrainis always looked the more likely winners with their stronger physical presence at the net.

Jasmin Al Nabhan, No 13, was a key figure for Bahrain, frequently spiking accurately and aggressively from the left, and he ultimately capped a superb display by delivering the winning serve.

For Bahrain, Sadeq Al Mohsen was their most prolific player, earning his team 19 points. But it was a solid all round display, with Fadel Mohamed, Ebrahim Nesaif and Al Nabhan weighing in with 17, 16 and 15 points respectively.

Meanwhile, Lebanon relied heavily on Elias Abi Chedid who contributed 22 points, eight more than any of his teammates.

Bahrain's Al Nabhan was pleased to get through this encounter, but expects more after the team has rested properly. "Today I think we didn't play very good as we don't normally make a lot of mistakes. We were very tired and couldn't concentrate inside the court.

"We have just come from the Arabic Championships in Bahrain and only had one rest day before flying here. We need to fix our mistakes before our next match against Mongolia. We can win against Mongolia and we hope to be 1st in the group, and then rest before the next round."

(dohaasiangames.org November 28, 2006)