JEDDAH, 21 February 2007 — History was made yesterday. For many years to come, Feb. 20 will be remembered as the day that signaled the return of Al-Dhana Knights back to glory. After more than 18 years, Al-Ittifaq finally secured the Gulf Cup Championship for Clubs drawing the final second leg match 1-1 against Al-Qadisiya of Kuwait and winning on aggregate score of 2-1 at Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam.
The trophy will not leave Dammam. It is here to stay. These were the words of Ittifaq players, fans and administration after the victory in front of more than 20,000 Ittifaq and Saudi fans of various stripes that came to support the team Saudi mission. The fans arrived at the stadium hours before kickoff to cheer the Knights who had the option of either to win or draw in the 90-minute contest after their 1-0 first leg victory in Kuwait late last year.
The Knights entered the match as though they never had a 1-0 lead and left nothing to chance against an equally determined Kuwaiti side that came to Dammam to win and not for a joyride.
As expected, the Kuwaiti team came on strong from the first minute dishing attacks and counter attacks. There was no time to test each other’s defense lines. Each had a mission: the Kuwaiti team to score early and come back to the game and the Ittifaqis to score early and widen the gap to break the Kuwaiti team’s moral.
The Kuwaiti goalie was tested in the 12th minute of the match from Saleh Basheer’s header that nearly went in. The Kuwaiti keeper managed to clear the danger with a fantastic save. Basheer was on again in the 21st minute with a nice strong shot that went dangerously next to the bar.
Ittifaq were struck hard one minute later from Badr Al-Mutawa header that traveled past the left hand side of the goalie for the match’s first goal that put Qadisiya back in the game.
Ittifaq striker Saleh Basheer had poor concentration for most of the first half missing easy chances to score.
But he soon got his bearings back to score a nice goal in the 65th minute of the second half from a tricky header. He broke free from his defenders to head in the goal that had the whole stadium rocking up until the final moments of the match.
With a one-goal lead on aggregate it was all a matter of game management for Ittifaq although Basheer nearly scored yet again in the 90th minute when his shot on the empty goal just missed crossing the line with a timely block by the Kuwaiti defender. The overjoyed players and fans had a premature celebration when they mistook a whistle for foul for the end of the match. The coach had to stop the match and clear the field after the players began to gather in the area to celebrate with still two minutes to play.
After the final whistle, Prince Sultan ibn Fahd, president of the Saudi Youth Welfare Presidency, handed the gold medals and the trophy to the Ittifaq team.
