JEDDAH, 22 March 2007 — The winds did not blow Al-Shabab’s way as they were handed a 1-0 defeat by Sepahan of Iran in the second round of AFC Champions League at King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh yesterday.
Shabab did much of the attacking throughout the match, but were felled by a sudden, late strike by Sepahan. The Iran team leads Group D with six points from two wins while Shabab dropped to second place with 3 points. Meanwhile, Ittihad of Syria and Al-Ain of UAE tied 0-0 in the other group match yesterday in Syria.
Shabab controlled the match and had the majority share of the exchanges and came close to scoring on more than one occasion. But precision was not their strong point. Shabab also relied on attempting to bludgeon the defense through the middle rather than use the wings judiciously in order to mix up play and stretch the defense. Shabab striker Naji Majrashi scorned a host of opportunities, the most dangerous one coming in the second half when he shot wide to the left hand side of the post after working his way into the box.
The winner came from a quick counterattack when Sayed Salhi received a nice lob over the onrushing Shabab defenders, sidestepped the goalie and neatly slotted home in the 82nd minute. Stunned by the goal, Shabab pushed forward with full force in search for an equalizer, and nearly got it when Abdu Utaif’s effort went inches wide.
All Eyes on Jeddah
for the Derby
Fans in the sleepless city of Jeddah are gearing up for the derby between rivals Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in the second round of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Tournament.
Fans will start flocking to the stadium as early as 10 a.m. to reserve a seat early and also avoid being locked out of the stadium that can only occupy up to 30,000 fans.
The last game ended 3-0 in favor of Al-Ahli when they snatched the Prince Faisal ibn Fahd Cup last month. During that match fans carrying tickets for the best seats (worth SR300) had to sit on the stairs, and this angered hundreds of fans. The ratio of wins in the past five years is 3-1 in favor of Ittihad.
Al-Ahli are a different team after Serbian coach Nebusha Moskovic took over at he helm last season. In his second match against Ittihad last year he managed to exhort his side to pick up their performance and beat the Asian champions in the quarterfinals of the Crown Prince Cup via penalty kicks.
During the past two years he has built a team that plays first class football. He has achieved this by giving chance to upcoming youngsters. On Sunday Ahli beat Al-Hilal 2-0 in Jeddah.
Media reports yesterday said that the coach may not start with his usual line up but instead will ring some changes by introducing bench players at the start.
Ittihad hopes reverse the string of defeats at he hands of Ahli and also make up to the fans for failing to win a championship in the past two years.
Ittihad has got their stride back after their star player and team captain Mohammed Nur’s one-year suspension was lifted after only six months. Nur has proved, with his recent performances, that he is an important element of not only Ittihad’s attack but a much-needed asset in the Saudi national team. The most recent display that went a long way to boost Ittihad was against the dark horse of this year Al-Wehda, who are in second place behind Hilal, when he helped the Jeddah outfit snatch a 1-0 victory.
Swiss referees’ are going to manage today’s match.
Ittihad will go out for a win in order to bridge the margin between them and the top two teams while Ahli will be hoping to be among the points in order to secure a spot in the top four to revive their chances of playing for the cup.
