JEDDAH, 18 February 2007 — Al-Nasr, after a string of poor run in the Saudi Football League, tasted victory with a 2-0 blanking of Al-Taie yesterday in Hail. The victory gave Nasr a huge lift as they boosted their rankings from 11th to eighth position with 15 points.
Motivated by a huge 3-1 win over Al-Faisali of Jordan in their Arab Champions League match, Nasr sustained their winning form in the Saudi league to satisfy their fans, who were at a dismal low after their team’s poor results in the league. Taie remain seventh with 17 points.
In Al-Majma’a, Al-Faisali held Al-Ahli to 1-1 draw. Ahli failed to snap up a victory that could have helped in their mission to qualify as the best of four to compete for the King’s Trophy.
Tayseer Al-Jasim gave Ahli the 1-0 lead after striking early in the first half. But their joy was short-lived as Saad Al-Oboud clinched the equalizer in the second half.
Ahli pushed forward for the remaining of the second half in search of a win. Ahli could have won the encounter after scoring second in the injury time through Male Mauz. But the referee disallowed it for offside.
The goal will be debated long after the dust has settled on the match with Ahli players and fans incensed that they were cheated of a very important win.
Ahli are in sixth place with 19 points, while Al-Faisali are still in the danger zone in the tenth position with 14 points.
The Saudi league competition will take a break until March. The Crown Prince competition will start next Wednesday.
