JEDDAH, 20 August 2005 — Two games and two losses. Instead of coming back from an initial defeat, Al-Ittihad found themselves in an unlikely 0-2 hole in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup after a 4-0 beating Thursday by Al-Ittifaq of Damam at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
The Jeddah-based Ittihad were nowhere near the form to suggest their lofty ranking among Saudi clubs as they were outclassed by the surprising Ittifaq side.
Ittihad were inferior defensively and offensively and looked pathetic at midfield. Ittifaq were in total control and, on many occasions, could have scored more than four goals..
Ittifaq’s markers were all first half goals. Striker Saleh Basher scored twice in the 14th and 40th minutes. Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani struck in the 21st minute and Khaled Al-Harthi in the 32nd minute.
The win gave Ittifaq the Group C lead with 4 points, while Ittihad brought up the rear with 0 point in two matches.
At Muhammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Al-Hilal of Riyadh escaped defeat against Al-Qadisiya of Khobar in a 2-2 draw. Qadisiya dominated the match and scored the first goal on a header by Badar Basareeh’s in the 24th minute.
Hilal equalized in the 51st minute on a Mazin Al-Faraj strike only to fall behind again two minutes later when Basareeh converted a penalty kick.
To Hilal’s relief, the team gained parity in the 89th minute when Badr Al-Dakheel turned in a a fine cross near the goalmouth. Hilal remain first of Group A with 4 points and Qadisiya second with 2 points.
Al-Nasr and Al-Ansar of Madinah drew 1-1 in Riyadh. Al-Janubi of Naser scored the first goal in the 53rd minute from a nice cross. Al-Ansar ‘s Mustapha Howsawi scored the equalizer in the 77th minute from a free kick.
Nasr are third in Group A with 2 points and Al-Ansar last with 1 point. In Abha, Wehda of Makkah secured an important 1-0 win against Abha. Mulawi Kazdi scored on a nice header for the only goal of the match came in the 35th minute. Wehda stay second with 4 points in Group C and Abha third with three points.
