JEDDAH, 8 April 2007 — Al-Ahli’s Serbian coach Nebusha Msocovic was confident that his side would win against Al-Hilal yesterday if they followed instructions. And that’s what happened when the Ahli players stuck to the script of their coach.
Showing grit and application in the return leg of the Crown Prince Cup semifinals, the players played to a plan for a 1-1 draw against Hilal in Riyadh. The result knocked Hilal out of the fray as Ahli qualified for the final against Al-Ittihad with a 3-1 aggregate score following their 2-0 first-leg win in Jeddah.
Ittihad had earlier qualified by beating Al-Ittifaq 4-2 on aggregate. Ahli and Ittihad will meet in the second final this year. They had earlier contested the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd final with Ahli winning the cup 3-0.
Defending champions Hilal knew that they had a mountain to climb after dropping the first leg away to Ahli 2-0. They had to score three unanswered goals in the second leg if they hoped to make the final. They must have been bolstered by the knowledge that they had always played well at home and a 3-0 target was not beyond them.
And the start indicated their determination. They set a furious pace to take swift control of the midfield. Hilal threatened the Ahli goal in the second minute of the match when Al-Qahtani’s backward header landed onto Rodrigo’s path in front of the goalie. The player was unguarded and had plenty of time to score. But his execution and direction was faulty. Hilal continued to push forward in search of an early goal.
And they soon opened the account from a free kick outside the penalty box by Libyan professional Tariq Al-Tayeb, whose set piece strike floated past the goalie to the right hand corner. Hilal pressed on for the second, but this allowed Ahli more room to counter. Ahli came close in the 18th minute when Malek Muaz, on receiving a fine pass inside the penalty box, shot just inches wide.
Hilal’s hopes, at this stage, received a hard knock when Al-Tayeb left the field following an injury, paving the way for midfielder Al-Tumyat. But Al-Tayeb’s exit blunted the nip in Hilal’s attack.
Hilal again came close in the 22nd minute when Omar Al-Ghamdi’s shot rolled past the left upright. Al-Ghamdi had earlier latched on to a fine pass just outside the penalty box.
Three minutes later it was the turn of Ahli fans to feel the ebb and flow of a near-miss when Muaz’s shot hit the crossbar. But he was not to be denied as he took advantage of poor marking, slipped his shadow to collect the ball inside the penalty box in the 41st minute, before placing the ball home.
Ahli, after drawing level, fell back to defend and it was here that they played to a plan by employing the rolling defense which saw players overlapping and switching positions. Ahli soon took total control of the match after the 30th minute of the second half and emerged from the shell with some superb raids.
The harassed Hilal defense made a series of mistakes, and one of which nearly resulted in another goal for Ahli. Hilal now will be pinning their hopes of winning the King’s Cup.
Ahli President Ahmad Al-Marzooki said, “The final will be interesting. Ahli is not afraid of playing Ittihad for the second time in a final. The win in the first final of the season will be a booster and I am confident that Ahli will win again.”
