JEDDAH, 14 January 2005 — With Al-Hilal idle the past two playdates, Al-Shabab struck for two victories in the same stretch including a decisive 3-1 triumph over Ohud of Madinah on Wednesday night in the King Fahd Cup soccer tournament.
Counting the 6-3 away win over Al-Ansar in Madinah last Thursday, the twin kill gave Shabab six points that boosted their total to 27 as they took over from fellow Riyadh-based club Hilal at the top of the table in the country’s premier soccer event.
The match was one sided for hosts Shabab. A bullet goal by Manga right in the first minute went unanswered up until the end of the fist half.
Faisal Sultan scored Shabab’s second goal in the 57th minute before Manga completed his double with another marker in the 78th minute. Ohud’s only goal came in injury time from a penalty kick by Waleed Ali. With only one win and two draws in 14 matches, Ohud stayed at the bottom of the 12-team pack with five points.
At Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam, the lackluster match between Al-Nasr and Ittifaq ended in a scoreless draw. Ittifaq remained in 11th position with 9 points and Nasr in fourth with 23.
In Madinah, home team Al-Ansar secured the full three points against Al-Riyadh of Riyadh with a 2-1 victory. Riyadh tallied the first goal of the match courtesy of Oman international player Badr Al-Maymani in the 15th minute.
Yousif Rasheed of Al-Ansar equalized before the end of the first half in the 41st minute.
Rasen Dedif hit the winner in the 66th minute enabling Ansar to move up from 10th to the 8th with 15 points. Riyadh dropped to 10th position with 13 points.
The matches will continue today when Hilal take on Qadisiya in Riyadh. Hilal, in second position with 26 points, have great chance of taking back the lead if they secure the full three points against Qadiseya.
In the only other match today, Ittihad will host Taif of Hail at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here in Jeddah.
Ittihad, in fifth position with 22 points, are looking to break into the top four with Taie, in sixth position with 19 points, also trying to improve their ranking.
