JEDDAH, 5 September 2003 — Champions Al-Ittihad and Al-Ittifaq showed their resilience and ebullience at the start of their respective King Fahd Cup Soccer League campaign with identical 4-2 victories against Al-Wehda and Al-Qadisiya yesterday. The third match of the day saw Al-Riyadh notching their first win in the league with a 2-0 defeat of Al-Khaleej in their second match.
Both Ittihad and Ittifaq showed strength in the back, a yen for the attack and exuberance in finishing as they rode to victory in fine style.
Ittifaq had the tougher of the two assignments for the day with Qadisiya too being an expected front-runner for the league honors. But Ittifaq made light of their challenge as they went ahead in the fifth minute through Yusri Al-Basha strike. Though Qadisiya pulled out all the stops as they could only strike back in the 62nd minute through Saud Kariri.
This goal opened the floodgates as four more goals rained in during the remaining period. Yusiri again gave Ittifaq the lead in the 70th minute and nine minutes later Junior’s brilliant goal off a set piece set Ittifaq on its way to victory in the Dammam derby.
The Ittifaq attack led to one more goal in the 89th minute with Abdulrahman Al-Yami scoring. Qadisiya showed why they are a team to watch when with all chips lost, Saleh Al-Ghumbar curled in a beautiful free-kick in injury time to round off the tally.
Ittihad and Wehda played out an entertaining first half with five goals coming in this period with both the teams showing a heavy accent on the attack. Cemba scored for Ittihad in the 17th minute only to see Wehda coming back two minutes later to draw level. Suleiman Amido blasted in the equalizer.
Cemba again gave Ittihad the lead in the 28th minute and this lead was embellished by Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Zayed, who stepped out of the box to blast in a penalty in the 42nd minute. Wehda’s Essa Al-Mihaiyani produced a gem of a solo goal at the stroke of interval to keep Wehda in fray. But Ittihad had other ideas with Saleh Al-Sagri putting the match away in the 60th minute with a superb strike.
Next week the Al-Hilal vs. Al-Nasr Riyadh derby is likely to be keenly watched.
Deportivo Clear as Only
Side With Perfect Record
Deportivo Coruna beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Wednesday to make it two wins out of two and move top of the table with the only 100 percent record in the Spanish first division.
Deportivo, league champions in 2000, took the lead early on with a chip from Juan Carlos Valeron and Uruguayan striker Walter Pandiani clinched victory with his second goal of the season 12 minutes into the second half. Victory took Depor top with six points, ahead of a group of six teams on four points from two games.
Among that group are last season’s champions Real Madrid, who drew 1-1 away to Villarreal on Tuesday, and Barcelona, who were held to a similar scoreline by Sevilla in a match that kicked off at five past midnight on Wednesday morning.
In other games played at more conventional times on Wednesday evening, Espanyol came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw away to Real Betis and King’s Cup holders Real Mallorca beat promoted Real Zaragoza 2-0.
Deportivo Coruna sold Roy Makaay to Bayern Munich over the close-season but so far they have hardly missed the Dutch striker, who top scored in the Spanish league last term with 29 goals.
Valeron opened the scoring with a virtuoso finish after 12 minutes, the Spanish international playmaker darting into the penalty area and lifting a shot over the keeper.
Midfielders Tiko struck a post for Bilbao and Carlos Gurpegui missed another good chance before Deportivo clinched victory with their second early in the second half.
