JEDDAH, 16 September 2004 — Al-Ahli completely dominated Al-Hilal in their 3-0 emphatic win, while Al Nasr beat Al Ansar 2-1 in the King Fahd Cup Soccer Tournament yesterday.
Ahli, who had lost their last two encounters, were a transformed side against Hilal at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here. Roared on by a capacity crowd, Ahli stuck to a single pattern throughout the match – sustained attack.
The first goal came in the 35th minute through a spectacular Ruggerio header. Brazilian Keem did the star turn for Ahli as he controlled the midfield and marshaled the attack brilliantly. His super pass to Ruggerio led to the first goal.
In the 52nd minute Ahli doubled the lead through Brichard, another Brazilian import, whose pile-driver of a shot deflected off a defender into the Hilal goal and in the 75th minute Ruggerio completed the tally to send the crowd into raptures.
In Madinah, Nasr had to sweat it out for their victory, which vaulted them to the top. But their lead could be short-lived if Al-Shabab wins against Al-Taie in Riyadh today. Mohammed Al Yousif scored the first goal for Nasr in the 5th minute from a corner kick to spark hopes of a goal glut.
But Majid Al Dosary and Saeed Al Harithy missed easy chances for Nasr before Ansar drew level in the 43rd minute. Athia Othman scored, connecting clinically to a cross from Abdu Raouf Moode.
Majid Al Dosary again wasted a chance soon after the break and only a 71st minute penalty conversion by Saeed Zahrani gave Nasr maximum points.
