JEDDAH, 29 August 2007 — The Dammam-based Al-Ittifaq face the host club Al-Wakra today in the Group A second match in the Gulf Club Championship 2007 football tournament in Qatar.
Ittifaq had a good start beating Al-Najma of Bahrain 2-0 on Sunday.
With two goals in their credit, Ittifaq lead the group with 3 points, equal to Al-Jazirah of UAE, who rank second because of goal difference. Al-Jazirah defeated Al-Wakra 2-1 in the second match of the group on Sunday.
Ittifaq are expected to play aggressive football knowing that the Qatari team will try to make up for the loss against Al-Jazirah. Ittifaq are looking to advance early into the semifinals with a victory. Faisal Al-Dossari, Ittifaq striker, said that the win against Al-Najma would “motivate us to defeat the other teams and top the group” adding, “the matches will not be easy but we will focus on winning.”
The other Saudi team in the competition, Hilal, also had a good start after defeating Muscat of Oman 1-0 in a Group B match. Kuwait of Kuwait are level with Hilal on three points after Kuwait defeated Umm Salal of Qatar 1-0 in the second match. Hilal’s only goal of the match came in the 84th minute from striker Ahmad Al-Suwaileh. Al-Suwaileh received a nice through pass from Nawaf Al-Tumyat in front of goalkeeper Muhammad Al-Huwaidi and rammed the ball home in the back of the net.
Hilal’s next match will be against Umm Salal of Qatar tomorrow.
