JEDDAH, 24 November 2006 — Al-Hilal moved to top of the Saudi Soccer League standings albeit temporarily after defeating Al-Qadisiya 1-0 in Dammam yesterday.
Both teams launched attacks and counter attacks in the free-flowing game with Hilal gaining a slight edge in both departments as they managed to control most of the first half.
Hilal were on defensive line in the last 20 minutes of the match as the hosts pushed forward hard to search for an equalizer.
Hilal star Muhammad Al-Shalhoub scored only goal of the match in minutes 17. Hilal searched for another goal throughout the first half but were met by a strong Qadisiya defense.
Qadisiya pushed forward in the second half in search of the equalizer knowing that they were in deep trouble being in the bottom of the standings with only 4 points.
Qadisiya’s Muhsin Al-Shehri was given the marching orders with a red card for a hard tackle against Nawaf Al-Tumyat in the 61st minute. Despite that Qadisiya were unflinching in their resolve but then a well organized Hilal defense proved tough to crack. Hilal now have 21 points with a match in hand against Shabab, who are second with 18 points from seven matches.
