JEDDAH, 2 March 2007 — Al-Hilal take on Al-Hazem and Al-Shabab face newly-crowned Gulf Cup for Clubs champions Al-Ittifaq in a pair of matches today that kicks off quarterfinal round action in the Crown Prince Cup football tournament. Both matches will be played in Riyadh.
In a potentially explosive contest, Al-Hazem will be looking to pull a surprise against the legendary Hilal squad. The Al-Rass-based team advanced to the quarterfinals after winning against Al-Jabaleen 2-on Friday. Hazem have nothing to lose and they are expected to push forward. Despite their impressive collection of titles and having been in the final of this competition many times times in the past, Hilal are not a cinch to win. The quarterfinals by tradition are full of surprises.
Prince Muhammad ibn Faisal, president of Hilal club, has warned players not to underestimate Al-Hazem saying that the team is strong and have many good players. He said, “The team managed to defeat Hilal in the last match during the Saudi Football League on Jan. 3 by 2-0.”
Hilal advanced after a tough match against Wehda on Feb. 22. Hilal defeated Wehda 2-1 and managed to turn the tables on the Makkah-based team after being down 1-0. On paper, Hilal have the edge over Al-Hazem with name players like Tariq Al-Tayeb, Yaser Al-Qahtani and Mohammad Al-Shalhoub and others. Nevertheless, Hilal are expected to take Hazem seriously knowing that anything could happen in the quarterfinals.
Ittifaq are in upbeat mood entering the match with Shabab following their big win against Qadisiya of Kuwait in the final of the Gulf Cup Championship for Clubs last month in Dammam. Ittifaq reached the quarterfinals after defeating Al-Khaleej 2-1.
Ittifaq are expected to go full steam ahead in their Crown Prince Cup campaign. Ittifaq have many good key players, among them, the dangerous striker Saleh Basheer. Shabab, on the other hand, qualified for the round of eight the easy way after defeating Al-Rabee of Jeddah 5-0 in Jeddah last month. They will now presumably be put to test by the Ittifaq squad.
