JEDDAH, 5 May 2005 — Favorites Al-Ittihad were held to a 3-3 draw by Al-Wehda in a thrilling encounter in the King Fahd Cup Soccer Tournament at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here last night.
Ittihad led by two goals to nil in the first half. Sergio Ricardo scored the first goal in the 33rd minute through a penalty kick and Khaled Al-Shamrani the second as he sent a powerful shot from the center to the left corner of Wehda goal.
In the second half, things changed after Wehda coach Tunisian Lutfi Al-Benzarti brought in Alaa Al-Kuwaikabi for Muhammad Al-Lahyani as he shuffled players to find the right combination. Benzarti’s idea bore fruit within five minutes of the second half when Moulay Kazadi scored the first goal for his team. He converted an excellent pass from Nasser Al-Shamrani into a goal 2-1.
Encouraged by the goal, Wehda players continued their attacks on Ittihad territory and Shamrani and Kuwaikabi missed many golden chances.
Sergio Herrera scored the third goal for Ittihad in the 77th minute.
Now down 3-1, this only strengthened the determination of Wehda players who continued their march for the equalizer. Before the end of regulation period, Kazadi scored his second goal putting pressure on Ittihad 3-2. Kuwaikabi then completed the tally in the injury time 3-3.
Mabrouk Zayed, Abdullah Al-Waked, Rada Tukr, Hamd Al-Muntasheri, Saleh Al-Saqri, Saud Kareri, Khaled Al-Shamrani, Manaf Abu Shugair, Ibrahim Suwaid, Sergio Herrera and Sergio Ricardo lined up for Ittihad.
The Wehda team comprised Assaf Al-Qarni, Suleiman Amedo, Muhammad Jamaan, Kamil Al-Mousa, Talal Al-Khaibari, Osama Hausawi, Muhammad Al-Lahyani, Majed Al-Hazzani, Kamil Fallata, Nasser Al-Shamrani and Moulay Kazadi.
