JEDDAH, 3 April 2008 — In the end, the hungrier team took home the trophy. Without a title for more than nine years, Al-Nasr last night ended the drought in spectacular fashion by beating fancied city rivals Al-Hilal 2-1 in the final of the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup football tournament at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
When the long whistle sounded to signal the end of the match hordes of Nasr fans in a sea of gold and white broke into a frenzied celebration.
Odds have been stacked heavily in favor of Hilal who were looking to secure a double after having won the Crown Prince Cup title earlier this year. Instead, Hilal found themselves at the short end of this head-to-head against archrival Nasr.
The victory brought back memories of the glorious years of Nasr when the legendary Majed Abdullah, nicknamed Pele of the Desert, was their star striker. When Abdullah retired in the late ‘90s Nasr’s decline as one of the Kingdom’s most successful teams started.
After the first half ended goalless, Elton Jose drew first blood for Nasr with a goal in the 47th minute only for Hilal’s Abdul Aziz Al-Dossari to equalize with a solo effort from outside the penalty box in the 56th minute.
And young striker Rayan Bilal became an overnight sensation for Nasr when he delivered the game clincher in the 67th minute. He took the bal inside the penalty box and blasted a rocket shot that went past the right hand side of the goalie.
Nasr entered the match determined to score an early goal. Nasr charged from the first minute launching attacks after attacks in search of that goal. Hilal were testing Nasr lines for the first 10 minutes before the team started to attack the enemy goal. Both teams failed to cash in on opportunities in the first half.
The second half was different. This half was full of action and excitement from the first minutes.
Hilal started to take control of the game and continued to launch fast counter attacks and isolate the striking line of Nasr.
Just as when many thought that Nasr would fade after the equalizing goal, Bilal rose to the occasion to frustrate Hilal in the well-fought match.
Bilal said that he was confident that he would score the winning goal. He said the fans’ support gave him the confidence to launch the shot.
“I could not dream of losing the match. I did not want to picture our huge fans that were loyal to us in good times and bad times going home sad. I promised myself me and my teammates to start a new chapter and bring trophy and confidence to our team. I promise the fans that this is not the last time we win championship as we still have the chance to win the new competition of King’s Cup for Champions.”
