JEDDAH, 19 May 2005 — Al-Ittihad and Sfaxin qualified for the Arab Champions League final in contrasting style. Ittihad qualified after winning both the home and away matches, first 1-0 and then 2-1 in Jeddah last night at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium to qualify 3-1 on aggregate.
Sfaxin rode home on their first leg victory after another Saudi Club, Al-Ahli, gave them a run for their money at home in a thrilling 4-4 draw in Tunisia. Sfaxin’s 3-0 win in Jeddah three weeks ago proved the difference.
In Tunisia, Ahli turned in a better and despite their striking display in the return leg their porous defense was once again exploited by the Tunisian side. Sfaxin were first to score in the 5th minute which Ahli canceled out through Kim in the 26th minute. Sfaxin again took the lead in the 29th minute ending the first half 2-1 in their favor.
Ahli equalized in the second half through Rogerio in the 65th minute only to see Sfaxin go ahead in the 71st minute. Ahli’s Flavio made it 3-3 in the 77th minute and Ahli finally took the lead through Talal Al-Meshal in the 80th minute. But the Tunisian team equalized in injury time to qualify.
In Jeddah, Ittihad eliminated Hilal with a 2-1 verdict. Hilal was first to test Ittihad goalie Mabrook Zayed in the 11th minute with a dangerous header from Al-Ghamdi. Hilal nearly scored the first goal in the 21st minute when De Silva’s shot was blocked by the Ittihad goalie and rebounded onto Al-Jaber’s path. But Hamad Al-Essa showed a clean pair of heels and cleared the ball for an abortive croner kick. Hamad Al-Muntashiri, Ittihad defender, opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a nice header to the left hand side of the goalie.
Stunned by the Ittihad goal, Hilal pulled back to defend. The defense however, could not stop Ittihad from scoring its second from a long set piece taken by Hamad Al-Essa. Hilal’s only goal came in the 73rd minute through Camacho from a nice shot inside the penalty box. All efforts to score by Hilal were met by a strong Ittihad defense.
