JEDDAH, 13 June 2005 — Al-Nasr brought down Al-Ittihad 3-2 to secure their place in the final four in the King Fahd Cup soccer tournament at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Despite the defeat Ittihad remain on third place on goal difference over Nasr after both teams were tied on 38 points with one round left in the the Saudi league regular season.
Al-Ahli, hoping for victory and a Nasr defeat, bombed out instead taking a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Al-Ittifaq before a disappointed home crowd at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
Ahli are on 33 points, while Ittifaq, with the victory, avoided being relegated to the First Division on 22 points, good for 10th place. Al-Riyadh and Ohod, the last two teams in the 12-team field, were relegated.
In what could well be a preview of the first stepladder final match where the winner advances to a battle against No. 2 Al-Hilal, Nasr cancelled out a 12th minute Ittihad goal by Marzouk Al-Othaibi with goals in the 22nd and 25th minutes from Ahmed Al-Khair and Saad Al-Harthi.
Another goal by Ibrahim Mather gave Nasr a 3-1 lead in the 59th minute before Ibrahim Suwaid struck in the 68th minute for Ittihad to set the score to what it was in the end.
Al-Shabab, the top team in the final four on 45 points, and the winner in the Hilal match will clash for the King’s Cup trophy next month.
Pakistan Hold India 1-1 in Football Series Opener
In Quetta, Pakistan, striker Mohammad Essa scored from a free kick yesterday to help Pakistan hold India 1-1 in the thrilling opening match of the first football series played between the South Asian rivals.
An enthusiastic crowd of 20,000 fans cheered as Essa scored the equalizer after India’s 65th minute goal from Sunil Chetri following a barren first half.
Essa, the top scorer for Pakistan in last year’s SAF Games, where his side beat India in the final, held his nerves to score with just 12 minutes left.
