JEDDAH, 8 March 2005 — Al-Ittihad scored an emphatic 5-1 victory over Taie of Hail yesterday and advanced into the semifinal opposite Al-Hilal in the Crown Prince Cup soccer tournament.
It will be Al-Nasr against Al-Qadisiya in the other match in the home-and-away semifinal to be played in two months’ time.
Cheered on by their army of supporters at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here, Ittihad found little trouble dispatching Taie as they scored two goals in the first half and three more in the second.
Taie avoided a shutout with a goal in the 79th minute.
Brazilian international Sergio accounted for Ittihad’s first two goals from close range in the 16th, on nice pass from Muhammad Nur, and 44th minutes. An own goal by Taie, Sergio’s third goal of the match in the 69th and Saleh Al-Sagri’s 80th minute strike rounded out Ittihad’s goal feast in the last quarterfinal match of the tournament.
Meantime, Al-Ahli open their campaign in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League when they take on Al-Zawraa of Iraq in a Group D match in Lebanon today. Club president Ayman Fadel headed a 37-member Ahi delegation to Lebanon for the away match. A number of Ahli fans had also traveled to Lebanon to support their team who are reeling from the absence of their 11 mainstays namely Hussein Abdul Ghani, Talal Al-Meshal, Abdu Busisi, Mansour Al-Najie, Keem, Muhammad Al-Khelaiwi, Ali Al-Abdali, Waleed Abdrabu, Saud Al-Khaibari, Fawzi Al-Shihri and Flavio. Al-Shabab of Riyadh will host Iranian team Spahan in a Group B match tomorrow.
