JEDDAH, 3 February 2006 — Al-Hilal banked on their wealth of experience to beat surprisingly tough Al-Wehda of Makkah 3-2 last night in the semifinal first leg in the Crown Prince Cup soccer tournament at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Team captain Sami Al-Jaber scored two goals and Camacho added one marker to put Hilal a goal up in the two-legged series.
Wehda opened their account with 10th minute penalty goal from Essa Al-Muhayyani. Wehda were awarded with a penalty kick when Abdul Aziz Al-Khathran tackled Wehda striker inside the penalty box. Al-Jaber scored the equalizer in the 26th minute with a nice header from a fine cross by Al-Shalhoub.
Al-Jaber was unguarded and he easily put the ball in the back of the net. He then struck anew in the 37th minute with a fine solo effort inside the penalty box as Hilal sat on a 2-1 lead at the turn.
In the second half Wehda tried to make a comeback and launched incessant attacks by Al-Muhayyani and Al-Kuwaikbi before striker Camacho scored Hilal’s third goal in the 78th minute.
Wehda cut Hilal’s two-goal lead with an injury time strike by Al-Jamali.
The second leg match will be played on Sunday between Ahli and Shabab in Jeddah at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, while Wehda will host Hilal in Makkah on Monday to determine the two finalists in the competition.
