JEDDAH, 12 August 2003 — The Saudi Olympic team showed the much fancier Kingdom teams in the tourney the grit needed to qualify for the second phase of the Seventh Sadaka Soccer Tournament with a 3-0 romp over the Senegal Olympic squad.
With both the teams having a chance to squeak through to the next round along with the Iraqi Olympic side from Group II, the match was robust and thrilling.
The Saudis led by a goal at the interval and the fact that the Senegalese were reduced to ten men in the second half saw the Saudi team taking charge and advancing to the knockout stage.
The Senegalese goalkeeper was shown the red card for hitting a Saudi player during a melee in the second session and though wiser counsel prevailed and the match progressed, it was, however, a rough affair.
Later, Al-Nasr defeated Fajer Al-Shaheed of Iran 2-1 for their first victory in the event.
There will be no match today. Tomorrow, the Iraqi Olympic team will play the Syrian Olympic team and the Moroccan Olympic team will take on the Saudi Olympic team in the second match.
