Saudi football fans had been looking forward to a final showdown between the two Riyadh-based clubs. Instead, a dark day for Saudi sports happened when not even one Kingdom team made it.

Seongnam was the first team to book a place in next month’s final in Tokyo after beating Al Shabab 1-0 at home, progressing on the away goals rule after a 4-3 defeat in their semifinal first leg.

Zob Ahan then defeated Hilal 1-0 in front of more than 70,000 cheering fans that came to watch the match at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. As promised by the Iranian coach, he came to Riyadh to win and win they did, advancing to the final on an aggregate score of 2-0. Ahan won by identical score of 1-0 in the first leg match at home.

After the defeat, Hilal club President Abdulrahman bin Musaed announced his resignation from the club and called on honorary members to meet soon to elect a new president, according to the official website of the club.

Cheered lustily by its army of supporters, Hilal pushed forward from the very first minute in search of the aggregate equalizer. Star striker Yaser Al Qahtani had been busy attacking alongside Essa Al-Muhayyani.
 
Hilal coach Eric Gerets did not start with star midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson and fielded him only in the second half in an apparent disciplinary measure after Wilhelmsson missed a Hilal penalty in the first leg match in Iran.

With a one-goal advantage entering the crucial match, the Iranians played conservative football, relying on fast counter attacks and taking advantage of gaps created by advancing Hilal players.
 
Al Shalhoub came close to leveling the game in the 30th minute when his strong shot went to the right side of the goalkeeper. Majed Al Marshadi’s header from a corner kick a minute later nearly went in but it sailed over the crossbar.

Hilal pressed even more and Thiago Neves’s long distance shot in the 35th minute was nicely diverted by the Iranian goalkeeper to a corner kick. The first half ended 0-0.

In the second half, Hilal relied more on long balls instead of penetrating through Iranian team’s defense. Neves again unleashed a fine long distance shot but it went inches over the bar. Wilhelmsson’s shot in the 51st minute from inside the penalty box was blocked to a corner kick.
 
The visitors stunned Hilal fans when Igor Jose Castro scored the first goal for Zob Ahan in the 55th minute on a fatal defensive lapse by Osama Hawsawi, who failed to clear the ball from inside the penalty kick. Castro collected the ball and blasted home to the left of the goalie.

The goal apparently demoralized Hilal and put extreme pressure on the host team needing to score three goals to qualify.

The Iranian team played defense giving Hilal players no space to move freely inside the box.

Despite that, Hilal fans kept on cheering in order to boost the team’s already low moral. Hilal took more possessions but had problems finishing against a well-organized Zob Ahan defense.

Hilal’s hopes to save the match virtually ended when LeeYoung-Pyo was red carded after he kicked an Iranian player in the 70th minute of the match.

Hilal fans then began heading for the exits with still 20 minutes to play.

Meanwhile, in the Saudi Professional League round 10, Al-Ittihad and Al-Fateh drew 0-0 in Al-Ahsa. This was the second draw for Ittihad after it played out a 1-1 draw against Wehda of Makkah 1-1.

With the result of the match, Ittihad remained on top with 23 points, while Al-Fateh is 13th in the team standings with six points. The action continues on Thursday with two matches pitting Al-Qadisia against Al-Raid in Alkhobar and Wehda against Najran in Makkah.