DUBAI: Qatar on Thursday night defeated Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf Cup for the first time since 2002, opening their campaign of the 27th tournament in Jeddah with a 2-0 victory over the defending champions at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium. After a goalless first half, defender Boualem Khoukhi opened the scoring with a header in the 61st minute, before veteran winger Hassan Al-Haydos added a second goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time from the penalty spot. Saudi referee Khalid Al-Turais sent off a player from each team, with red cards going to Qatar’s Ahmed Fathy in the 70th minute and Bahrain’s Abbas Al-Asfoor in stoppage time. The UAE, who had beaten Yemen 4-0 earlier on Thursday, top Group B on goal difference with Qatar in second place. Bahrain, the defending champions, and Yemen remained without points. Qatar’s last Gulf Cup win over Bahrain had come at the 15th tournament, hosted by Riyadh in 2002. Between the 2002 and 2006 events, the two teams faced each other six times in the competition, with Bahrain winning half of those matches and the other three ending in draws. The 27th Gulf Cup brought the total number of encounters between the two nations in the tournament, which began in 1970, to 20. Bahrain has won six of these matches, Qatar five, and nine have ended in draws.