RIYADH, 22 April 2006 — Al-Shabab emerged triumphant in Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup final with a 3-0 verdict against Al-Hilal here yesterday. All the goals came in the second half.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah presented the cup to the jubilant Shabab captain Saleh Siddiq, who held aloft the trophy to the goodly cheers of their fans.
After an even first half, in which Hilal held a slight edge, the switch of end spelt the end for Hilal’s hopes of adding the third silverware of the season to their name.
They had earlier won the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup, beating Al-Ahli 2-0, and then added the Crown Prince Cup, again at the expense of Ahli 1-0. Yesterday, however, their dreams of making it three-in-a-row for the second year running came a cropper against a hard-running Shabab, who executed some fine one-two passes to steamroller the Hilal defense.
However, it was Hilal who called the shots in the early running with a more balanced approach, with their midfield finding their men with some fine promptings. But Shabab defense soaked up the pressure with panache and, slowly their midfield found their feet to put the game on an even keel.
Shabab went into the break with the momentum swinging their way and they continued from where they had left off to put the Hilal defense under pressure. Then two goals within four minutes knocked the heart out of Hilal.
It was the concerted moves, strung out by Shabab in the early part of the session that saw the Hilal defense buckle. A flanking run by Zaid Al-Muallad saw a needless robust challenge by the Hilal defender Fahd Al-Muffaraj and the resultant penalty was struck home fiercely by Al-Muallad in the 49th minute.
Then in the 53rd minute a move down the center saw Iraqi Nashaat Akram relay a superb shallow goalmouth pass that was redirected home by the onrushing Abdu Othaif, who showed quicksilver feet to elude his shadow.
Though Hilal showed their flair in patches after the twin strikes, it was Shabab who got the goal — their third. With time running out Hilal threw everything into the attack and nearly broke through. But the Shabab defense rallied bravely and cleared out the threat. A long ball to the midfield was relayed quickly to Nasser Al-Shamrani, who with the Hilal defense well up, raced in and struck past a charging Hilal goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Dayea in the 83rd minute to ice a well-deserved triumph.
Steaua Edge Boro; Sevilla
Hold Schalke: UEFA Cup
In London, a terrific strike from midfielder Nicolae Dica gave Steaua Bucharest a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough while Schalke 04 drew 0-0 at home to Sevilla in UEFA Cup semifinal first-leg ties on Thursday. Steaua, the 1986 European champions, only had Dica’s first-half strike to show for their dominance as keeper Mark Schwarzer kept injury-hit Boro in the tie.
Steaua coach Cosmin Olaroiu said: “Before the match I would have been content with a 1-0 win, but now the victory has a bitter taste.” Australian Schwarzer, who had no chance of saving Dica’s well-struck shot on the turn after 30 minutes, made two fine saves in the second half as Steaua pressed strongly. He tipped over Dorin Goian’s volley from close range and minutes later got down well to smother Dica’s shot after a defensive lapse.
— Additional input from agencies
