By Mohammed Al-Kinani
JEDDAH – Al-Ittihad shared two goals with Al-Ittifaq in an 18th round match of the Saudi Zain Professional League at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium Tuesday.
The draw has almost ended the champion’s hope to keep the title. In other matches, Al-Nasr defeated Al-Wehdah 2-0 while league leader Al-Hilal won over Al-Ra’id 2-1.
The Romanian striker Cristian Danalache put Ittifaq in the lead two minutes after the kickoff when he scored from the spot. However, Talal Al-Misha’al of Ittihad leveled the score from the same spot in the 89th minute.
Ittihad defender Hamad Al-Montashiri brought down Yousof Al-Salem in the box. The former was yellow carded before Danalache succeeded to score.
Ittihad missed the services of a number of its key players –Tunisian striker Amine Al-Chermiti is participating in the African nations Cup, midfielder Mohammed Noor did not take part for unknown reasons and Osama Al-Muallad is suspended.
Ittihad is still third on the standings with 33 points and one match in hand. Ittifaq is 9th with 20 points and a suspended match.
At King Abdul Aziz Sports City Al-Nasr collected three points after defeating Al-Wehdah 2-0. Skipper Husain Abdul-Ghani put his team in the lead seven minutes before the break. Taking advantage of a defender’s mistake, the Argentinean midfielder Victor Alberto Figueroa sealed Nasr win four minutes before the break. Nasr is fourth (30) with two matches in hand while Wehdah is fifth (23).
Al-Hilal won over its guest Al-Ra’id 2-1 at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium. Striker Yasser Al-Qahtani put his team in the lead seconds before the break. Midfielder Mohammed Al-Shalhoub, league top scorer with 12 goals, succeeded to score from the spot. Ra’id striker Mousa Al-Shammari headed into the goal scoring his team’s only goal.
With the conclusion of this round, Hilal is on top with 47 points (11 points ahead of Shabab). Hilal will play against Al-Hazm in the next round. If the leader succeeds to get that match’s three points, it will become the winner of the competition irrespective of other results.
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