JEDDAH: Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad qualified for the semifinals in Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup of Champions.
Hilal advanced to the final four opposite Al-Shabab next Thursday in Riyadh after a 0-0 draw yesterday against Al-Nasr in the second leg match at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Ittihad reasserted its supremacy over Al-Ittifaq with a 1-0 victory yesterday in the second leg match to advance with an aggregate score of 2-0 at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. The first leg match in Dammam ended 1-0 on a goal by Ittihad striker Talal Al-Meshal.
The first leg match, with Nasr holding home advantage, ended 1-1. Hilal was at home for the second leg and Nasr failed to score despite many opportunities.
Since Hilal scored a goal in the first leg, it goes through on the away goal rule.
Nasr ended its season without a championship and joined Al-Ahli and Al-Wehda and Al-Ittifaq as the teams that exited the competition.
Ittihad faces Al-Hazem in the semifinals next Friday. Al-Hazem managed to advance to the semifinals at the expense of Ahli. It drew the first leg match 1-1 in Al-Rass and also the second leg 2-2 in Jeddah.
The only goal of the match came from Osama Al-Muwallad’s header in the second minute of the match. Ittifaq goalkeeper failed to clear the ball that went to the right of the goalkeeper. Throughout the match, Ittihad dominated the midfield giving no chance for Ittifaq players to maneuver. Busharwan and Muhammad Nur gave Ittifaq a hard time and its standout players Prince Tagoe and Saleh Basheer were hardly a factor in the match.
