JEDDAH: Al-Ahli scored a big regional victory to save a frustrating season as it won the Gulf Clubs Championship for the third time in its history.
Unable to make a headway in the Saudi Professional League, Ahli vented its frustration in this prestigious tournament, beating Al-Nasr 2-0 in the second leg final match yesterday at the Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium in Riyadh to win the crown on the aggregate score of 3-0. Ahli, which had won this event in 1984 and 2002, beat Nasr 1-0 in Jeddah in the first leg of the home and away series.
A goal by Hassan Al-Raheb in the 68th minute set the tone for the Ahli victory march and another marker by first leg goal scorer Badr Al-Kharashi in the 80th minute killed off hopes for the home team. Following the game plan to the letter, Ahli played attacking football right from the first whistle and established control of the match especially in the midfield line. Ahli had the alarm bells ringing for Nasr’s defense in the seventh minute when Muhammad Masaad executed a nice cross inside the penalty box. But the Nasr defense line was quick to react and cleared the ball before it reached Malek Muaz.
To their credit, the Ahli midfielders did a good job of organizing attacks on the Nasr goal. Al-Raheb gave a dangerous cross inside the penalty box in the 11th minute but there was no receiver at the other end. Nasr goalkeeper was really tested in the 17th minute by Masaad’s long distance blast but the ball went inches wide from the post. Nasr came back in the 19th minute with a free kick by Elton who unleashed a strong direct shot that was saved by the Ahli goalie.
A 20th minute substitution by Nasr in which the team took one defender out for a midfielder in a bid to end Ahli domination on this line did little to alter the complexion of the match. Muaz then nearly scored Ahli’s goal in the 27th minute when he took the ball inside the penalty box passing by three defenders and blasting the ball that was nicely blocked by the goalie.
Though Ahli carried the momentum in the second half, Nasr matched its rival’s fast pace in frantic search of the aggregate equalizer.
Elton came close to scoring with a fine shot in the 49th minute. Again in the 57th minute, Ahmad Al-Mubarak launched a long-range shot that was blocked by the Ahli goalkeeper. Nasr assumed total control of the midfield with Elton in the thick of things. The go-ahead goal for Ahli came when Al-Raheb, who scored his team’s goal in the first leg match, took the ball and passed one defender inside the penalty box before blasting in a hot grounder under the goalie.
Nasr was never the same after that as its game crumbled in a maze of errors. The first mistake came when Nasr failed to clear a ball paving the way for Muaz to come face to face with Nasr’s goalkeeper in the 70th minute. However, Muaz’s shot was badly executed and the ball went outside the goal.
Nasr nearly scored the equalizer from a strong shot by Razzaq in the 79th minute. In the ensuing play, Malek’s shot was blocked and hit the bar but the ball rebounded to the waiting Al-Kharashi who directed the ball to the back of the net, sealing the win for Ahli.
General Presidency of Youth Welfare President Prince Sultan bin Fahd attended the game and awarded Ahli the gold medals and trophy.
