JEDDAH, 16 April 2006 — One of the pivotal match of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup will be contested at the King Fahd International Stadium today when Al-Hilal come up against Al-Ittihad of Jeddah in the second of the four-team stepladder event with both psyched up for the match.
Hilal, with home advantage, are coming off a smashing show against Mash’al of Uzbekistan in the AFC Champions League group clash and will be looking to ways to paralyze the roving Ittihad midfield while also charting out moves that would penetrate the strong Ittihad defense.
Ittihad too are rejuvenated following their crushing 3-0 victory over Al-Ahli in the first rung of the stepladder in Jeddah, and their overlapping attack pattern could prove a problem for the Hilal defense which has been found wanting on occasions.
Hilal, who finished second in the Saudi league standing with 44 points, have met Ittihad twice in the league. They drew with Ittihad in the first match 2-2 and then lost the second time round 1-0. The striking pace of Hilal and Ittihad, under new coach Bruno Metso, could lead to a veritable attack fest and, with so much at stake both teams are expected to go all out.
Both the teams match up power for power. Ittihad has Muhammad Kalon in the front along with Prince Tago and former Nasr player Saad Al-Harithi and the trio has struck up a fine combative combination. Hilal too boast a powerful attack with national team strikers Yasir Al-Qahtani, Muhammad Al-Anbar and Ahmad Al-Suwaileh and their continued play has lead to a perfect tuning in way of understanding and finesse.
In the midfield Ittihad are served by team captain Muhammad Nur, Manaf Abu Shgeer and Ibraheem Suwaeed, and this phalanx has been the fuel that has motored Ittihad’s waves of attacks. Hilal’s midfield is made up of national team star Muhammad Al-Shalhoub, Nawaf Al-Tumyat and Camacho and this battery has broken down many a fancied defense with their speed and verve.
It is only in the defense that the Jeddah outfit holds a slight advantage with Hamad Al-Muntashri, Ahmad Al-Dokhi, Reda Tukar, and Meshal Al-Saeed patrolling the back line and Saud Kariri lending supporting by playing more as a withdrawn midfielder. Only Tarafees and Kamel Al-Musa measure up in Hilal defense line, and if Fahd Al-Mufarej, Omar Al-Ghamdi and Khaled Aziz play above expectations, then Hilal would be able to blunt the fast-paced Ittihadis.
Ittihad will rely on Nur heavily to create the opportunities for Kalon and Tago and it is here that Hilal could bottle up the Ittihad side and control the game by effectively shadowing Nur. Hilal, on the other hand, will be relying on the experience of Sami Al-Jaber in the front line to shake up the Ittihad defense.
The veteran winger, with his incisive runs, has time and again proved a thorn in many a defense line and the result of the match could also well hinge on the capabilities of the vaunted Ittihad defense to shackle the speedy winger.
Many Hilal fans are hopeful that it will be a Riyadh derby that would decide the eventual destination of the cup. For the winner of this match would play Al-Shabab for the silverware. The fans are also optimistic that the match would be won by their side as Hilal has rarely lost a home match.
Hilal fan Saud Al-Otaibi said that Hilal does not lose a match in front of their home crowd. He was confident that Hilal would win this match and then beat Shabab to secure the trophy and add it to Crown Prince Cup and Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup that they have already won for the season.
He said, “Ittihad stutters when they travel to Riyadh to play against Hilal. And again, we are in a better shape than what we were at the start of the league. We are just two matches away for out third title. I’m confident that we’ll win 3-0 and all the goals will be scored by Yasir Al-Qahtani.”
Countering Otaibi’s confidence was Ittihad fan Muhsin Al-Shebani, who was quite dismissive of Hilal, claiming Hilal will be beaten. He said, “Hilal is a just another station on our road to the final. We will prove to all people that Ittihad’s style is the stamp of Saudi football both locally and internationally. We will win because all pointers indicate that we will win — we have the best players, the best coach and the best administration and best fans.”
