JEDDAH, 3 January 2008 — Against all expectations and against all odds, Al-Ahli turned the tables on the surging Al-Hilal with a masterful 3-1 victory last night to revive their sagging fortunes in the Saudi League.
And on a night when nobody gave Ahli a ghost of a chance Malek Muaz delivered a virtuoso performance, setting up two goals and scoring one himself in a brilliant solo effort that saw him bulldoze his way past four Hilal defenders.
In scoring their first victory following a series of poor results Ahli made their fans happy and kept the trademark Ahli spirit alive deep into the tournament.
Enjoying the support of the home crowd, Riyadh-based Hilal took charge in the first three minutes taking advantage of the shorthanded Ahli side that was missing the services of key players including team captain Hussein Abdulghani and Kaio.
No problem. There was Muaz, who stepped up big time to put to rest issues about his being out of shape the whole season.
Muaz split the Hilal defense every so often in a display of skills that inspired his teammates no end.
Checking in the 14th minute, Muaz gave a sneaky pass behind the defense line to striker Fabiano who slammed the ball in the back of the net to give Ahli a 1-0 lead that help to the end of the first half.
Though stunned by the Ahli goal Hilal fans were convinced it was only a matter of time before their team took control of the match. Tough luck. Asian Footballer of the Year and Hilal’s star striker Yasser Al-Qahtani was muzzled all evening and did not even come close to threatening the enemy goal.
In the second half, Hilal needed to play aggressive football in search of the equalizer but they were instead forced to be on the defensive by the attacking game from Ahli.
The fired-up Muaz again made a daring run past the defense to set up Fabiano for a goal in the 50th minute before Hilal scored their only goal of the match with a penalty shot in the 68th minute from Tariq Al-Tayeb.
Muaz was not done yet. Determined to stamp his mark on this match, Muaz again worked his magic in the 80th minute. Collecting the ball on the right side, Muaz took the ball inside the penalty box after outmaneuvering four defenders then slotted home a powerful shot away from the outstretched arms of Hilal goalie Mohammad Daie.
With the win, Ahli jumped to the seventh position with 16 points. Hilal kept third position with 23 points.
In the other match, Al-Watani defeated Al-Taie 1-0 in Tabuk to move to sixth position with 18 points. Taie are stuck in 11th spot with 7 points.
Meantime, two very important matches will take place today. In the first match, Ittihad will host Al-Nasr in a potentially explosive match at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
Both teams are expected to take advantage of Ahli’s win against Hilal and for league leaders Ittihad it is a perfect chance to widen the gap on Nasr.
Ittihad, like Ahli yesterday, are missing the services of standout players.
