JEDDAH, 13 March 2004 — Al-Ahli staved off a determined effort from Al-Hilal to force a goalless deadlock in the second leg of the Crown Prince Cup Soccer Tournament semifinals at the King Fahd Stadium yesterday.
The 0-0 result meant that Ahli earned the right to advance to the final, which will be a Jeddah derby as Ittihad had beaten Nasr on Thursday to seal their spot in the final.
Hilal dominated the game throughout with Ahli content to defend stoutly. Ahli knew well enough that a draw in this away leg would be enough to carry them to the final following the 2-1 advantage they had established in the first leg.
Ahli relied on fast counters from Talal Al Meshal and Carlos Diaz, but for the majority of the match they defended gamely.
Muhammad Al-Khelaiwi and Emad Siddeek marshaled the defense superbly as they marked Hilal’s Sisi and Al-Suwaileh, dangerous on many occasions, competently.
Hilal’s attack lost its nip with Sisi going out with injury. But they had not given up. Hilal made attacking changes by introducing Al-Shehaan and Sami Al-Jaber in the second session and Al-Jaber almost scored in the 70th minute. Al-Dossari found Trawry with a neat pass and the last-named’s header hit the post and rebounded to Al-Jaber, whose effort was cleared by Al-Khelaiwi.
Milan and Real Madrid Happy to Be Kept Apart
Holders AC Milan and favorites Real Madrid were relieved to be kept apart and also away from in-form English league leaders Arsenal in yesterday’s draw for the Champions League quarterfinals.
Both Milan, six-times winners of the European Cup, and Madrid were given relatively straightforward routes to the last four.
Madrid were drawn to meet French league leaders Monaco, while Milan will face the unpredictable Spaniards Deportivo La Coruna, who knocked out last season’s runners-up Juventus on Tuesday.
Arsenal, playing stunning football in all competitions as they seek a treble, were drawn to meet big-spending London rivals Chelsea in an all-English showdown.
In the other quarterfinal last year’s UEFA Cup winners Porto, who eliminated Manchester United on Tuesday, will play Olympique Lyon of France, who are in the last eight for the first time.
