JEDDAH, 2 January 2003— Al-Ittihad turning in a superlative attacking display handed Al-Ahli 4-1 defeat in the King Fahd Cup soccer tournament at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.
The victory in the Jeddah derby lifted Ittihad to the top with 25 points while Ahli have 17 points and are in the fourth place.
In other matches, Al-Qadisiya drew with Al-Shola goalless and Al-Shabab defeated Al-Najma 3-1.
A capacity crowd had turned up for the Ittihad-Ahli clash and they were treated to a goalfest. It was Ahli who took the lead in the 10th minute when Talal Al-Mishaal scored with a header. Ittihad quickly went in search of an equalizer and their sustained attack paid dividends in the 22nd minute when Marileo scored after a dazzling run.
Both the teams adopted a strong offensive game and provided the fans with plethora of action. Ittihad, however, proved the better of the two in finishing and they thus ran out winners.
Abdullah Al-Wakid, one of Ahli’s star players, opted out of the game just before the interval due to tiredness and this further affected Ahli’s chances.
Hamza Idris then put Ittihad ahead in the 42nd minute, converting a Marileo corner kick.
Marileo then rounded off the tally by converting a penalty in the 82nd minute after Saleh Al-Saqri had put Ittihad 3-1 ahead. Ittihad’s Manaf was fouled by Goshan in the box, and the resultant penalty was struck home cleanly by Marileo.
