JEDDAH, 23 December 2004 — Al-Hilal brought down Al-Ittifaq 2-1 in the final yesterday in the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup Under 23 Soccer Tournament in Riyadh.
In a lackluster match, Hilal took the measure of Ittifaq with a goal in each half.
Brazilian Paulo de Silva opened the account for Hilal when he headed in a nice cross from Camacho in the 19th minute.
Hilal, who are clearly the more creative side, took a 2-0 lead when Mohammed Al Anbar punched in a short cross from inside the box by Abdul Al Anezi in the 53rd minute.
Ittifaq set the score to what it was in the end when Abdul Rahin Al Qahtani slammed in a goal from close range in the 57th minute.
The game went on a steady pace for both teams. In the first half both sides exhibited a weakness in midfield leaving their offenses in disarray.
But the early goal by Hilal apparently unsettled Ittifaq who tried with little success to keep pace with their rivals specially in the second half.
Oman ‘Goes Mad’ After
Reaching Gulf Cup Final
In Muscat, Oman’s first-ever Gulf Cup final appearance in the tournament’s 34-year history has sent the football-mad nation into an unprecedented frenzy as Omanis distribute sweets and rush to book seats for Doha to watch tomorrow’s clash with Qatar.
The streets of the Gulf sultanate, deserted during Oman’s semi-final against Bahrain in the Qatari capital Monday, with virtually everyone glued to television sets, burst into uproar when Oman emerged deserved 3-2 winners.
Flag-waving motorists honked their horns and whistled, clogging the streets as a wave of jubilation swept the country.
The next day, newspapers splashed Oman’s feat on their front pages and printed supplements studded with photographs of the celebrations.
“Oman on cloud nine after super victory,” screamed Times of Oman’s headline.
“I haven’t known this kind of frenzy in the sultanate before,” said Omani entrepreneur Mohammad Zaman as he looked for superlatives to describe his country’s history-making performance in the Gulf’s version of the European Championships.
Issam Askul, a Palestinian-born Jordanian who has lived in Oman for the past 30 years, sounded even more excited as he described scenes of “men, women and children singing and dancing wildly.”
Askul said his immediate concern was to book a seat to Doha to watch what he called tomorrow’s “royal battle”.
