JEDDAH, 14 October 2004 — Al-Wehda of Makkah scored a last-gasp goal in injury time to hold Al-Ittihad 2-2 and in the process thwarted the Jeddah outfit’s hopes of vaulting to the top of the King Fahd Cup Soccer League yesterday.
With the game well into injury time and with just 30 seconds left in the match in Makkah’s King Abdul Aziz Stadium, Wehda sneaked in a leveler through Sulaiman Abdullah that kept Ittihad in third place with 14 points. Ittihad could have taken first place with a win as the top two teams Al-Shabab and Al-Nasr were both idle.
Ittihad will well be ruing their luck in not coming away with a third goal in the 75th minute when a classic Mohammad Nur’s essay went past the diving Wehda keeper, only to hit the far post before bobbling to the other end, tracing an arc to the other upright. The ball thudded the second post and rebounded back into play leaving the players and the crowd watching in stunned disbelief. A desperate shot by an Ittihad player only saw the ball bounce off the bemused Wehda keeper’s outstretched hand for an abortive corner.
It was Ittihad who held sway in the early part of the match and they went ahead in the 17th minute with Hamza Idrees’ header going into the net after glancing off the upright.
Wehda were stirred into action and a period of sustained activity produced an equalizer with Saeed Labban cracking in a fine goal from the top of the box in the 38th minute. Chico scored the second goal for Ittihad from a free kick in the 62nd minute and as the match wound down the Ittihad defense, which till then had been resolute, let down their guard. And Wehda, who dropped to 8th position with 8 points, struck.
In Riyadh, Al-Riyadh sank Ohod of Madinah 1-0. Ohod prop up the table with 2 points while Riyadh are in 7th position with 8 points. In Hail, Al-Ansar of Madinah tied with Al-Taie of Hail 1-1. Taie moved to fourth position with 10 points while Al-Ansar are in 9th position with 8 points.
North Korea March On
in Asian Qualifiers
In Tokyo, Japan, mystery team North Korea joined Japan, Bahrain and Uzbekistan in the final round of Asian World Cup qualifiers after beating Yemen at home yesterday.
But China face disaster after slipping to a 1-0 defeat in Kuwait and South Korea will have to wait until they play Maldives next month after drawing 1-1 with Lebanon.
North Korea, who have done little since their shock quarterfinal appearance at the 1966 World Cup, advanced with a 2-1 victory over Yemen in Pyongyang.
Thailand’s 3-0 win at home to United Arab Emirates ensured North Korea went through regardless of what happens when UAE take on the Koreans in the last round of group games next month.
Asian champions Japan made sure with a comfortable 1-0 victory in Oman.
Defeat in Muscat would have been potentially disastrous for Japan but striker Takayuki Suzuki settled Japanese nerves with a powerful header seven minutes into the second half.
Japan have a perfect 15 points with one match left and can not now be caught by Oman in Group Three.
“We knew it would be tough but we showed excellent mental strength and technique,” said Japan’s Brazilian coach Zico, whose translator was sent off in the 64th minute as tempers frayed. All the players did their jobs and we deserve to go through.”
Maksim Shatskikh and Alexander Geynrikh were on target as Uzbekistan beat Iraq 2-1 in neutral Amman to ensure they finish top of Group Two.
Bahrain drew 2-2 with second-placed Syria in Damascus to advance from Group Six by virtue of having a better head-to-head record.
South Korea’s proud record of having qualified for every World Cup since 1986 was at stake against Lebanon in Group Seven.
But despite their draw in Beirut, South Korea should have little trouble advancing as they play Maldives at home in their final game on Nov. 17.
South Korea have 11 points from five games, one more than Lebanon.
The visitors took the lead through Choi Jin-cheul after just eight minutes but Ali Naserreddine pulled Lebanon level midway through the first half.
Japan-based striker Ahn Jung-hwan, whose goals helped South Korea reach the 2002 World Cup semifinals, rattled the crossbar with a fierce long-range effort in the 69th minute.
But the group leaders again failed to make their dominance count.
Indian Ocean islanders Maldives, meanwhile, produced an astonishing 3-0 home victory over Vietnam in their match in Male thanks to two goals from Ali Ashfaq.
As is often the case in the reclusive communist country, North Korean state media only released the result and did not give details of who scored in Pyongyang.
North Korea have disappeared from the international scene since reaching the last eight of the 1966 World Cup in England — an achievement unsurpassed by Asian teams until 2002.
But victory over Yemen gave North Korea 11 points from five matches in Group Five with UAE on seven points.
China’s involvement in the 2006 World Cup in Germany was thrown into doubt after an error-strewn performance in Kuwait.
Midfielder Waleed Jumah snatched the winner three minutes after halftime as Kuwait climbed above China on goal difference in Group Four.
Saudi Arabia had already made it to the final round of qualifiers. The Gulf Cup champions won 3-1 in Indonesia on Tuesday to make it five wins in a row in Group Eight.
Iran retained top spot in Group One with a 3-2 win away to Qatar while Jordan remain second on goal difference after beating Laos by the same score in Vientiane.
The top team from each of the eight groups advances to the final round of qualifiers.
In other games, Singapore won 2-0 at home to India in Group Three.
Hong Kong beat Malaysia 2-0 at home for their second win of the campaign but China could wrap up Group Four with a draw away to Kuwait.
In Group Six, Tajikistan beat Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in a battle of former Soviet republics.
