JEDDAH, 27 February 2005 — Al-Ittihad, now third with 31 points, emphasized that they were the top team in the city when they won 3-2 the Jeddah derby the second time round against Al-Ahli at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here yesterday. They had earlier won 4-2 in the first meeting of the King Fahd Cup Soccer League.
In a pulsating match both the teams played rip-roaring soccer that had the crowd on their feet repeatedly. Twice Ahli, who remain fifth in the standings, pulled Ittihad back on level terms only to find their citadel breached for the third time at the fag end of the match.
The winner at 86th minute came off a classic Sergio Ricardo header, who met on the run an incisive high center from Saleh Al-Sagri, and redirected the ball into the net past a flailing Ahli goalkeeper Abdu Bisisi. Ittihad then weathered an Ahli storm for the remaining minutes of the match to run out convincing winners.
But before this striking nod that fetched Ittihad maximum points, the match swung like a veritable pendulum. It could have gone either way with Ahli proving more threatening on the counter in the second half.
The teams played out a knock out first half that ended deadlocked at 1-1. Ittihad made most of the running and brought in some intricate plays to run the Ahli defense ragged. Ittihad struck first in the tenth minute when Sergio Herrera rose above a crowded Ahli goalmouth to head home a corner kick. But their joy of forging ahead was short-lived. For four minutes later Ahli scored. A back pass from Mohammad Musaed from the top of the box found an onrushing Tayseer Al-Jassim just meters outside the box and Tayseer’s pile-driver of a shot zipped through the legs of defender Saleh Al-Sagri to bulge the net, with the Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Zayed making a vain diving attempt to stop it.
Ittihad had many more chances to take the lead, but they scorned a real gift in the 28th minute when Sergio Ricardo finished poorly with only the Ahli goalkeeper to beat. Saudi international Muhammad Nur did the spadework before essaying a shallow diagonal that found Sergio unmarked and alone in front of Abdu. But Sergio, who had worked his way in by beating the off-side trap, could only manage to shoot straight into the goalkeeper.
The teams came back with renewed vigor in the second session and once again Ittihad went up, just two minutes into the half, when the two Sergios combined to score. Nur again was the playmaker with an excellent pass to the left flank, which caught the Ahli defense well up, and Herrera swooshed in to send in a defense-splitting center to the right. Ricardo, steaming into the box, smashed in a first-timer that left the Ahli defense bemused leaving the goalkeeper to make a valiant but vain bid to block the shot.
Ahli then went on the attack but had to wait till the 66th minute for the equalizer. Muhammad Musaed ran into the box, cut past a defender before sending in a goalmouth center that was neatly dispatched home by Ruggerio. Ahli were stopped in the 69th minute by the woodwork when Naif Al-Qadi’s header bounced back from the post and a minute later Ruggerio’s shot from close was deflected out of harm’s way by a defender.
And just when it looked like the match would end with honor’s even, Ittihad struck to the joy of their supporters, while deflating the hopes of their rival fans.
