JEDDAH, 14 February 2006 — Al-Hilal escaped defeat in the last minute against Al-Ittihad in an explosive Saudi soccer league match last night at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here.
In front of a large Ittihad and Hilal fans, both teams came face-to-face in the postponed match from the first round. Ittihad were determined to collect the three win points and put an end to their losing skein including the last embarrassing defeat against Al-Hazem 2-0.
But Hilal denied Ittihad victory and shared the spoils after the match ended 2-2.
Hilal were first to score in the 27th minute courtesy of Omar Al-Ghamdi who slammed one in after a fatal mistake inside the penalty box from Ittihad defender.
Striker Hamza Idrees gained Ittihad a penalty kick when he was tackled inside the penalty box. Muhammad Calon then put the ball in the left hand side of the goalie in the 47th minute. Ittihad controlled the game after that goal. Muhammad Suwaeed scored Ittihad’s second goal in the 66th minute from a fine header inside the penalty box. Hilal were desperate to score an equalizer which came very late in the game – in the injury time when Fahd Suror slid the ball into the net during a mad scramble near the goalmouth. The result left Hilal still behind Al-Shabab in second place with 32 points and Ittihad in fourth place with 22 points.
Talal Al-Meshal Joins Nasr Club
Meantime, Al-Nasr and Ahli club sealed the deal for the transfer of Talal Al-Meshal from Ahli to to Al-Nasr for the remaining of the season. The player will play for Nasr for three months until the end of the season. Faisal ibn Abdulrahman, president of Nasr club, said that the team is in desperate need of the services of Al-Meshal. He said that the club may buy the international card for the player in future if Ahli management agrees.
Al-Meshal expressed happiness with his new team saying that he will push himself hard to meet the expectations of Nasr fans and club management.
