JEDDAH, 12 April 2006 — Another soldout match is expected at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium today when rivals Al-Ahli and Al- Ittihad go at each other’s throat for the fourth time this season.
The winner in this first stepladder match in the Saudi Soccer League final four advances to a showdown against No. 2 Al-Hilal in Riyadh in a match that will determine the opponent of waiting top finalist Al-Shabab.
Ahli finished the regular Saudi league season in fourth place with 36 points with Ittihad in third with 42.
There is a long history of rivalry between the two teams and almost to a man all their matches are packed with a sea of fans from both sides. Today’s match won’t be an exception.
Ahli eliminated Ittihad in the Crown Prince Cup quarterfinal match in Jeddah two months ago 5-3 on penalty kicks. This Ahli win ended a string of defeats against Ittihad.
Their last two matches in the Saudi league ended in draws, 2-2 in the first match and 1-1 in the second. There will not be such a result in today’s match as one of the teams must win to earn the right to play against Hilal next Sunday in Riyadh.
Ittihad coach has promised victory against Ahli but then he knows it will be a daunting task given the fact that Ahli have very good players with energy and the will to win.
Ahli Extend Nebosha Contract
Meantime, Ahli renewed the contract of coach Nebosha for one more year. This was announced at a press conference by Ahli club president, Ahmad Al-Marzooki, and his deputy Abdullah Al-Buloshi. Al-Marzooki said that the contract was renewed with the current coach because of the positive results achieved by the coach and because he managed to introduce new faces to the team.
Al-Marzooki said, “At the beginning when he came, we asked him to introduce new faces to the team and give new players a chance.
In my opinion, we achieved very good positive results and we managed to defeat two strong teams in the Crown Prince Cup against Ittihad and Shabab and we showed good performance against a good team like Hilal in the final. We signed the contract and there was no disagreement with the coach.”
