JEDDAH, 15 March 2005 — Saudi Arabia went down in defeat against Egypt 1-0 in a friendly match yesterday at the Prince Mohammad ibn Fahd Stadium in Dammam.
Egypt scored the lone goal of the evening when Imad Motaab broke free from a Saudi defender and slammed home the winner in the 63rd minute. The first half ended 0-0.
The Kingdom national soccer team were looking to duplicate their impressive 5-2 win against Egypt in the 1998 Confederations Cup. Instead they were beaten in their first of two tuneup games before the crucial World Cup qualifying matches against South Korea on March 25 and Kuwait on March 30.
The Egyptian side began to pick up pace after the first 10 minutes of the first half.
Egypt played attacking football that kept their hosts on the defensive.
Egypt had more chances and their first decent attempt came in the 18th minute when they got the ball inside the penalty area.
Abdul Malik gave Egypt another chance to move ahead when he launched a shot inside the box in the 36th minute. Saudi goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaed palmed away the shot that hit the post after another Egyptian player picked up the ball and made another attempt.
Keeping up the pressure, Eypt were able to mount another raid on the Saudi goal in the 62nd minute through Omar Zaki.
The Saudis had problems at midfield and their offense can’t seem to get going.
Shabab Steer Clear at the Top in King Fahd Cup
Al-Shabab got the upper hand over Al-Hilal in their running battle for the lead while Al-Ittihad suffered a defeat from a team in the lower half of the standings, writes Mahmoud Ahmad from Jeddah.
This and not much else marked the 17th round action in the King Fahd Cup Soccer Tournament over the weekend.
Shabab moved up to first place on goal difference with a 2-1 away victory over Al-Qadisiya in Dammam, as Al-Riyadh drew with Al-Hilal 1-1 in a battle between two Riyadh-based squads.
Shabab and Hilal are equal on points at 39 but the former have the better goal average of 21. Hilal have 19.
Dammam’s Al-Ittifaq steered clear of the relegation zone with a big 4-0 win at home to Al-Taie of Hail.
But the one that easily attracted attention was Al-Ansar’s upset victory over soccer heavyweight Ittihad.
Languishing at ninth place, Ansar came back from a goal down at the turn to score a fine 3-2 victory before their delighted home fans in Madinah.
While Shabab notched the three-win points with little trouble, Hilal needed a last-minute equalizer to avoid defeat by a Riyadh team in danger of being relegated to the First Division at 11th place.
The victory boosted Ittifaq to 10th in the elite 12-team field, right behind the surprising Ansar who moved ahead with their third goal five minutes before the buzzer.
