JEDDAH, 8 October 2005 — After a marathon match that stretched to more than 120 minutes Thursday night, Al-Hilal clinched the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup title with a 2-0 victory over Al-Ahli 2-0 in the final at Prince Faisal ibn Fahd stadium in Riyadh.
Two last-gasp goals in the second extra time by Muhammad Al-Anbar and Nawaf Al-Timyat, coming off headers within two minutes of each other in minutes 118th and 120th. , gave Hilal victory. After the match, General Presidency of Youth Welfare and Saudi Football Federation President Prince Sultan ibn Fahd awarded silver medals to Ahli and gold medals and champion trophy to Hilal.
Ahli defender Naif Al-Ghadi and Hilal midfielder Abdul Aziz Al-Khathran were each shown the red card in the fast-paced
classic encounter between the two arch-rivals.
Hilal were the better and more dangerous side in the first 12th minutes. Ahli picked up pace later on with Fahd Al-Zahrani and Abdul Haq Al-Areef in the midfield organizing attacks. Ahli strikers, Waleed Al-Jizani and Talal Al-Meshal, however, were not up to the task failing to convert easy chances to goals.
Hilal, on the other hand, frolicked up front with Muhammad Al-Anbar and national team striker Yasir Al-Qahtani giving Ahli defenders a lot of headache.
Ahli were reduced to 10 men when Al-Ghadi was red carded in the 54th minute for hitting a rival player in an incident away from the ball. But Hilal had one man sent off in the 85th minute when Al- Khathran was booked for hard tackle. With still no result after regulation period, the game needed two extra periods to decide. Hilal striker Al-Anbar headed in a corner kick in the 118th minute for the first goal of the match. Two minutes later, Hilal captain Al-Timyat also scored on a header from a nice cross from Al-Anbar. With the win, Hilal defended one of three major titles they won last season.
