MAKKAH, 19 May 2007 — Against all odds and against all pundits’ expectations, Al-Wehda ousted defending champions Al-Shabab in the first stepladder match in the King’s Cup Final Four competition yesterday here.
Wehda turned the tables on Shabab after being down by a goal to win 2-1 and earned the right to meet No. 2 Al-Ittihad in the second match of the stepladder format next Thursday. The winner in this match advances to face No. 1 Al-Hilal for the championship crown.
In front of a large Makkah crowd, which was estimated at more than 15,000 that filled every available space at the stadium and the largest gathering of Wehda fans in many years, Wehda delivered on their promise to their fans as they sustained their amazing run in the tournament.
Wehda charged at the enemy goal right from the first minute to underline their determination to score in the firs half.
Shabab were relying on their fast counter attacks courtesy of Atram and Naji Majrashi. After a fast-paced torrid battle, the first half ended 0-0. Shabab came with a different performance in the second half and managed to score the first goal through Majrashi in the 49th minute after he received a nice head pass behind Wehda defenders.
Wehda defenders made a mistake of not guarding the very fast and dangerous striker. He blasted the ball in the right hand side of the goalie. This stunned the Wehda players and silenced the partisan crowd.
Many thought that it will be just another sad ending story for Wehda and that the adventure will be over in the first stepladder match. It was not to be.
Wehda coach introduced Essa Al-Muhayyani to speed up the front line and also Talal Al-Khaybari in the left wing to activate that side.
Wehda missed many golden chances to score the equalizer in the 70th and the 73rd minutes through Al-Shamrani. The Wehda fans had to wait until the 75th minute when Al-Muhayani shot a strong goal that was blocked badly by the Shabab goalkeeper.
The ball rebounded to Al-Khaybari who was charging from the back and blasted the ball in the back of the net. The stadium went crazy with fans cheering after long silence. This whetted the Wehda appetite to attack more. After five minutes Al-Shamrani gave an ice backward kick inside the penalty box. Again the ball was badly blocked and rebounded to the charging Andai, the Wehda defender who placed the ball in the back of the net.
Shabab were shocked this time not believing the opponent scored two goals in a span of five minutes. Shabab pushed forward in search of an equalizer but the equalizer could not come from one striker after the coach replaced the striking line with defenders to protect the 1-0 lead.
In their next match, Wehda players promised to repeat the same win against Ittihad.
