JEDDAH: Al-Ahli moved one match from securing the Gulf Clubs Championship trophy for the third time in its history after winning the first leg final match against Al-Nasr 1-0 at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here yesterday. The home-and-away series moves to Riyadh for the second leg match next Wednesday with Ahli taking a slim one-goal lead, a situation that does not present much of a concern for Nasr as the team gets its chance to play host and thus enjoy home field advantage.
For Ahli the result means that the team will have more than one chance to clinch the title — to simply win the next match or to draw. But then Ahli also realizes that as two-legged final go a 1-0 lead means nothing.
In front of a turnaway crowd that had filled the stadium hours before kickoff Ahli players delivered on their promise to win at any result that will make their mission in Riyadh easier.
Both teams delivered a performance worthy of the magnitude of the match but Ahli was lucky to win on a Hasan Al-Raheb header in the 34th minute from a fine cross by Harrison. Al-Raheb’s header landed to the right of the goalie who tried to block the ball in vain. Ahli sat on a 1-0 lead to end the first half. Against a well-organized Ahli defense Nasr failed to find the equalizer for the remainder of the contest.
With only half the job done Ahli players were told to not celebrate yet, while Nasr remains optimistic of turning the tables on its rival on Wednesday. Nasr manager Talal Al-Rasheed said the game is not yet over and that Nasr will have the last say in Riyadh. He blamed the Qatari referee for not awarding Nasr a penalty kick in the last minutes of the match, saying his player was tackled inside the penalty box.
