Bahraini side Al-Najma Club sealed their second win in history at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, dominating the San Francisco CalHeat, 29:22, as they opened their account in the current edition, after conceding a 26:27 loss against Industria Kielce on Tuesday.

GROUP D
Al-Najma Club (BRN) vs San Francisco CalHeat (USA) 29:22 (12:9)

Al-Najma were agonisingly close to deliver one of the biggest upsets in the history of the IHF Men’s Super Globe on Tuesday, when in the first game of this edition of the competition they conceded a 26:27 loss against Industria Kielce, after leading by one goal with two minutes to go.

That meant that their chances to progress to the semi-finals were slim, but the Bahraini side were still on track to better their top result in the competition, the seventh place in 2018, needing a win against the San Francisco CalHeat to keep that dream alive.

For the first eight minutes of the match, it looked like this was not going a problem, with Al-Najma taking a commanding 4:1 lead, until the CalHeat finally found their mojo and used their aggressive 4-2 defence to create a 3:0 unanswered run to tie the game, 4:4.

From that moment on, Al-Najma enhanced their defence and had some outstanding help from their goalkeepers, as Hamad Shamlan had eight saves for a 50% saving efficiency, while Ali Saleh saved two of the three shots he faced, for a 66% saving efficiency.

That meant that the CalHeat, which also had a six-minute stint without a goal, faced serious trouble in attack, finishing the first half with only nine goals, as their attacking performance was definitely hampered by Al-Najma’s excellent display in defence.

But the Bahraini side only had a three-goal lead at the break, 12:9, which could have created issues in the second half, were the CalHeat to improve their attack, correct their mistakes and use that efficiency to exert some pressure.

However, Al-Najma had the better start of the second half, with back Mohamed Ahmed being unstoppable, as the Asian team used a 6:2 start of the second half to open a seven-goal gap, 18:11. That proved to be the pivotal moment of the match, as the CalHeat found no gas in the tank to mount a comeback, with Shamlan extending his excellent run of form.

Shamlan, Al-Najma’s goalkeeper, who saved 13 shots for a 52% saving efficiency, was particularly fantastic in one-on-one situations, saving seven shots in these moments of the match, which subsequently helped Al-Najma to create a flurry of fast breaks, which fueled their challenge.

The 29:22 win, with Ahmed, the hummel Player of the Match, scoring nine goals, was the second one in history for Al-Najma, after the one sealed against Sydney-Uni in 2018, while the CalHeat conceded their fourth loss in a row at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, a run which should continue in the next match, against Industria Kielce, which will close Group D on Thursday.

Al-Najma also set a record for themselves, as their 29-goal performance was the best at the Super Globe in terms of goals scored, beating the previous record of 28 set against Sydney-Uni five years ago, while the seven-goal gap was also the biggest win for the Bahraini side in the competition.

hummel Player of the Match: Mohamed Ahmed (Al-Najma Club)