JEDDAH, 25 January 2005 — Al-Ahli of Jeddah drew 1-1 against Nasser Hussein of Algeria yesterday in the Arab League Championship at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
The match had looked in the bag for Ahli when they found the breakthrough goal in the 72nd minute ending a drab goalless battle early on.
It’s all a matter of game management for Ahli to realize victory at home. But Ahli’s defense failed to hold up against a desperate Nasser charge in the closing minutes.
Hussein Al-Turi converted a nice cross from inside the penalty box from Brazilian Keem to give Ahli a 1-0 lead.
The Nasser Hussein equalizer came in the 83rd minute and scuppered hopes of a big victory by Ahli who were without some of better players either because of national team duties or injuries. With the victory, Nasser Hussein go top of group D with 5 points, while Ahli are in second place with three points from three draws. Al-Ittihad, another Jeddah-based club, play Ghazl Al-Mahalla of Egypt in Egypt where Al-Hilal, the third Saudi team in the tournament, will also take on another Egyptian club Al-Esmaeili.
Meantime, the Saudi national team will play a friendly match against Tajikistan at Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh today as part of their preparation for the upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Uzbekistan.
