JEDDAH, 9 January 2006 — Round 13 of the Saudi Football League saw the surprising 1-0 defeat of Al-Ahli against Al-Wehda of Makkah at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.
Al-Shabab regained the lead from Al-Hilal after beating Al-Ittifaq 1-0 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Al-Hilal, on the other hand, lost the lead after drawing against Al-Hazem 2-2 at the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. Al-Hilal took the lead 2-0 in the first half but lost it when Al-Hazem clinched the equalizer in the second half.
Al-Ittihad collected the game’s three points against Al-Taie after winning 1-0 in a low-profile match in Jeddah. This is putting more than a question mark on Al-Ittihad’s performance after they returned from World Cup in Japan.
Al-Shabab are now on top of the Saudi Soccer League with 28 points, followed by Al-Hilal in the second place with 27 points. Al-Ahli are third with 18 points equal with Al-Wehda who’re in fourth position with 18 points because of goal differences. Al-Qadiseya are fifth with 16 points, Al-Ittihad are sixth with 13 points, Al-Taie are seventh with 13 points, Al-Hazem are eighth with 12 points, Al-Nasr are ninth with 10 points, Al-Ittifaq are tenth with nine points and Al-Abha and Al-Ansar are eleventh and twelfth with five and four points, respectively.
Meanwhile, in the Arab Champions League, Al-Nasr lost their chance to qualify for the semifinals of the competition after losing against Wehdat of Jordan 2-1. The match took place in Amman under very cold weather and Wehdat took most of the control of the match. The first goal came by Al-Nasr defender Abdul Aziz Al-Janoubi in the 21st minute from a nice shot outside the penalty box. The equalizer came in the 51st minute of the second half by Hussein Abdul Fattah and in the 82nd minute by Mahmoud Shelbaya.
