JEDDAH, 25 September 2007 — The round 4 of the Saudi Football League ended with little surprises as Al-Ittihad took the lead in the team standings as expected and Al-Nasr dropped to the 11th position.
Many sport critics agree this is a very bad start for Nasr club especially after the preseason hype that Nasr would be a new team vying for honors in the competition. But Nasr have produced nothing thus far and their worst defeat was against Ittihad on Thursday when the team suffered a 5-1 drubbing. The Riyadh-based Nasr are in last place with 1 point from three matches, two defeats and one draw. Ittihad continued to set the pace with 7 points from four matches, three wins and one draw.
In the second position are Ittifaq with 6 points from two matches and two wins against Wehda and Najran. Ittifaq jumped from the seventh with still two matches in hand. Wehda are on third position with 6 points from four matches, two wins and two defeats. Wehda suffered two major loses against Ittifaq 4-1 and against Shabab last week 2-1. The setbacks somehow impeded the progress of the young Wehda team that had enjoyed a good start this season. Al-Hazem are fourth with five points from four matches, one win, two draws and one defeat. Al-Hazem dropped back one notch after drawing 1-1 against Qadesiya last week.
The Riyadh-based Shabab moved up to the fifth position after that important win against Wehda. They now have five points from one win two draws and one defeat. Al-Watani, Najran, Hilal and Ahli are in the middle warm zone of the standings. Hilal are still to launch their AFC Champions League campaign and they have 3 pending matches after winning their first match for three points in the domestic league.
The Saudi league action continues today with Al-Hazem hosting Ittihad in Al-Rass and hoping to upset Ittihad and advance to the upper level. Al-Hazem defeated last year’s double champions Al-Ahli 1-0 in the opening match of the league. Nasr will try to make amends and collect three important points from Taie in the match in Riyadh. The last match will be a derby match between Qadesiya and Ittifaq.
