JEDDAH, 29 April 2005 — Al-Qadisiya face Al-Nasr today in the second leg of their semifinal series in the Crown Prince Cup soccer tournament.
The crucial match to determine the first finalist in the competition will be played at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh with the home team Nasr hoping to overturn Qadisiya’s one-goal advantage.
After a 12-year absence, Qadisiya are keen to make the final and their prospects have been boosted by a 2-1 home win in Alkhobar.
Qadisiya coach Ahmad Al-Ajlani has done his homework before leaving for Riyadh for the away match.
Known to favor defensive play patterns, Al-Ajlani is banking on the striker Yasser Al-Qahtani and Abdu Hakami to launch fast counter attacks with five players in the midfield.
Al-Qahtani said that the team prepared very well for the very important match. He promised Qadisiya fans a different Qadisiya on the night of the match. He said: “Nasr is a very strong team but with the iron will of my teammates we will reach the final. We will execute the plan to put an end to Nasr dreams.”
Nasr face the difficult task of winning by at least two goals to have any chance of qualifying.The game will be officiated by referees from Portugal who arrived in Riyadh on Thursday.
Meantime, the Syrian referee, Mahmoud Abbas, who failed to control the fight-marred Arab Champions League match between Saudi club Al-Ahli and Ismaeili of Egypt in Egypt is likely to be suspended, according to sources.
The same sources said the three Ismaeili players who started the ugly melee in the dying seconds of the match each face one-year ban from the ACL. They are Amro Faheem, Husni Abdrabu and Al-Mutasim Salem.
Ahli lost that match 1-0 but got through to the semifinals on aggregate 2-1. They had won their home game 2-0 in Jeddah.
