JEDDAH, 19 March 2004 — In the first of two 1st Division semifinals in which fortunes switched from one team to the other, Al-Doraq Sports beat Arabian Soccer 2-1 to enter the final of the SIFF-Sadafco Soccer at the Ministry of Education Stadium here on Friday.
The match was so aggressively fought by the two teams that five players from both teams were show red card - three from Al-Doraq and two from Arabian Soccer.
Al-Doraq will play without its three best players in the final on March 26 against the winners of the other semifinal between BCC and ACC-A scheduled next Friday (March 19)
The day, which also featured the first of two semifinals in the 2nd Division, Eastern Eranad trounced Blue Star B 2-1 after each had scored a goal in the first half. Eastern Eranad will play the final on March 26 against the winners of the other semifinal between Al-Salamah and ACC-B next Friday (March 12).
The 1st Division match began in fast pace as both Al-Doraq and Arabian Soccer mounted pressure on each other through some aggressive tactics. Within two minutes Arabian Soccer took the lead through an effortless goal from winger Bashir Ahmed. About 10 minutes before the breather, Al-Doraq’s striker and player-of-the-match Shanawaz scored the equalizer. Then on it was the story of missed chances on the part of both teams. Al-Doraq made several aggressive moves but failed to push through the solid defense of their opponents. Arabian Soccer’s custodian Mujib Rahman, who came to Riyadh to join the team, brought about some saves, but finally yielded his opponents the matchwinner when Al-Doraq’s striker Munzil converted an excellent pass from his teammate winger Shanawaz.
Thereafter, the game became rough and Saudi referee Muhammad Salim had so send out five players from both teams. The teams were formally introduced to Air-India’s Western Province Manager S.M. Mazharullah, chief guest of the match, before the two clashed.
In the 2nd Division match, Blue Star B failed to cash in on the lead they established in the first few minutes of the game. Eastern Eranad scored the equalizer through their striker Anis Hussain who neatly converted a penalty. Eastern Eranad got the lead in the 10th minute after the breather when winger and player-of-the-match Sajid Babu netted a corner taken by Mujib Rahman. K.N.P. Basi of Raymond Mosaco was the chief guest of the match.
