JEDDAH, 11 May 2008 — Al-Shabab are headed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup of Champions final after handing visitors Al-Hazem a 5-0 beating in their second leg semifinal match last night in Riyadh.
Coming back from a 4-2 loss in Al-Rass, Shabab sent a strong warning to either Al-Hilal or Al-Ittihad, who play the second leg of their own semifinal series, that they are serious contenders for the cup. Shabab rattled in three goals in the first 36 minutes of the match and Hazem never recovered from the bombardment by the hosts. Faisal Al-Sultan put Shabab in the scoresheet in the 11th minute when he booted the ball served to him on a silver platter by left wing Zaid Al-Muwalled into the net. The home team continued attacking in search of the leveler for the remaining one-goal difference. They missed the target on the 23rd and 27th minutes, which Hazem Man of Match goalkeeper Mansour Al-Najai cleared dramatically.
In the 34th minute, Abdu Ateef’s brilliant lob over the defenders found forward Nasser Al-Shamrani who converted the pass for Shabab’s second goal. Two minutes later, Ateef maneuvered against a defender and slammed a powerful shot past a helpless goalie into the net.
Hazem were lost in the first half with no more than two meek shots on goal. In contrast, Shabab showed they meant business and dominated the period.
Hazem tried coming back in the match in the first few minutes of the second half but again the home team showed no no let-up as they scored the fourth goal via Al-Sultan’s powerful left-footer. The home team’s Man of the Match Ateef struck again for his team in the 87th minute with a fifth goal, shattering Hazem’s hopes for good.
