Al-Hilal increases lead to six points

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Hilal increased its lead at the top of Zain Saudi Professional League to six points after beating Al-Ahli 3-1 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Thursday.

In other matches, Al-Wehdah routed its host Najran 5-0 at Al-Okhdoud Club Stadium, while Al-Ittifaq beat visitors Al-Ra’id 3-0 at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam.

Swedish striker Christian Wilhelmsson put Al-Hilal in the lead before Yasser Al-Qahtani doubled the lead. Al-Ahli striker Hussain Al-Rahib cut the lead but Thiago Neves scored again for Hilal to seal the win.

Both teams came into the match looking for an early goal. Hilal banked on its wingers, while Ahli depended on its strikers Malik Mo’adh and Javier Tulido. Hilal’s strategy worked when Wilhelmsson thumped Hasan Khairat’s cross into the goal in the 24th minute.

Wilhelmsson was replaced by Eissa Al-Muhayani through injury five minutes after the break. Wilhelmsson’s exit eased pressure on the Greens, who started attacking their opponents more often.

Hilal midfielder Thiago Neves hit a strong kick in the 68th minute, but Ahli goalkeeper Yasser Al-Mosayleem denied him. Neves’ corner kick found Yasser Al-Qahtani who put it into Ahli goal.

Ahli coach then brought in Hasan Al-Rahib for Tulido and Badr Al-Kharashi, former Hilal player, for Mohammed Al-Sifri to put pressure on Hilal. These substitutions resulted in a goal for the visitors when Hasan Al-Rahib succeeded in heading a cross into Deayea’s goal in the 77th minute.

Neves, however, succeeded in securing Hilal another goal in extra-time when Mosayleem failed to stop his strong shot from the left.

Hilal sits on top of the standings with 41 points, six ahead of runner-up Shabab on 35. Al-Ahli, with a match in hand, remains in the sixth place on 20 points. Ahli’s new Brazilian coach Sergio Farias joins the team Saturday.

Mohannad Aseeri scored a hat trick as Moroccan midfielder Rafiq Abdussamad and Salman Al-Balawi added a goal each for Wehdah, which routed Najran 5-0.

The victory added three points to the Reds total to take it to the fourth place with 23 points. The team still has two matches in hand. Najran, on the other hand, is in the bottom with seven points.

Ittihad routs Hazm to maintain 3rd position

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Host Al-Ittihad thrashed Al-Hazm 5-2 in a round 16 match of the Saudi Zain Professional League at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Wednesday.

Al-Ittihad thus maintained its third position with 29 points while Hazm is eighth with 16 points. The two teams still have two suspended matches.

A hat trick by the Moroccan striker Hicham Aboucherouane and two goals by Sultan Al-Numari and Talal Al-Misha’al powered the champion to the impressive victory.

The goals of Hazm came from two midfielders, the Senegalese Hamad Ji and Ahmed Minawir.

Al-Nasr defeated its host Al-Qadisiyah 2-0 at Prince Saudi Bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium.
The host played well in the beginning despite Sahlawi’s goal.
In the 24th minute, Mohammed Al-Sahlawi, former player of Qadisiyah, received a cross from the

Argentinean midfielder Victor Alberto Figueroa. It only took Sahlawi a slide to put it into the goal.

From a free kick in the 52nd minute, skipper Husain Abdul-Ghani sent the ball to the closely-guarded Sahlawi who headed it into the goal.

Four minutes later, Al-Qadisiyah coach Daniel Carlos made two substitutions to strengthen his frontline in vain. On the other hand, Nasr coach Jorge da Silva replaced striker Sa’ad Al-Harthi with the South Korean midfielder Lee Chun-soo to add more balance to his team. He then replaced Sahlawi with another striker.

He also replaced Abdullah Mousa with Ibrahim Ghalib in the 91st minute.

Nasr is now fourth in the standings (21) with three matches in hand while Al-Qadisiyah is 10th with 11 points.

In another match, the ten-man Al-Fateh shared the spoils (2-2) with its host Al-Shabab, league runner-up, at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium.

Faisal Al-Sultan put Shabab in the lead in the sixth minute before Ahmed Bou-Obaid of the guest team leveled the score with a header ten minutes later.

Tunisian defender of the Al-Fateh, Ramzi Bin Younes put his team ahead in the 24th minute. About 13 minutes after the break, Fateh midfielder, Faisal Yousof was shown the red card.

Al-Sultan succeeded to equalize in the 91st minute for host team.

Shabab still trails leader Hilal (38) as second by three points. Al-Fateh is seventh (18).

Mystery fire engulfs students’ cars in Jeddah

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Mystery surrounds the causes of a fire which engulfed seven cars belonging to students at a school in the Al-Andalus District.

Qussay Ahmad was one of the students who lost his car in the fire. Other students were more fortunate. They managed to save their cars as they rushed out of the school at around 10.55 A.M. to the neighboring parking lot.

The lot can park as many as 50 cars. No one was injured in the incident but questions have now been raised about the possible causes of the fire, including rumors that it is linked to disputes among students.

Concerns have also been raised about the school’s accessibility to firefighters. Ahmad, a 10th grader, said he does not have any problems with any of his schoolmates. “Thank God, I and my schoolmates are safe,” he said.

Dr. Saleh Sarhan, the school’s principal, said that the possibility exists that this could be arson. He said that some students told him they had seen three students climbing the wall into the school. “This may indicate they are involved, but we should wait for a report from the Civil Defense investigators,” he said.

Sarhan added that one of the destroyed cars belongs to a student who had been assigned to organize the movement of students inside the school. However, he did not think that this created any hostility toward this student, he said.

Sarhan said that when he first heard of the fire, he immediately called the fire service and gave permission to open the main gate, so that other students could move their cars away. “We waited for more than 15 minutes for the firefighters to arrive to put out the fires that ruined those five cars,” he said.

Mohammed Saeed Al-Ghamdi, a lieutenant from the Civil Defense Department, who was present at the site, said that it was noticed that the front glass of one of the cars looked like it had been broken by a stone. “Investigations will tell everything later. They will also determine the angle of the stone that was thrown,” he added.

However, he emphasized that people could only speculate about the cause of the blaze at this stage. Investigators would determine the cause of the fire. “The three students who skipped their classes will be investigated.
They can perhaps lead us to the right conclusions,” he added.

With more than 700 students, the school is surrounded by villas, palaces and consulates. It is two hundred meters away from the King Fahd General Hospital, which is filled with cars. This makes the area difficult for firefighters to reach.

Shabab, Ahli,Hilal in semis

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Shabab, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal joined Al-Fateh in the semifinals of the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Cup after they won over Al-Ansar, Al-Khaleej and Abha respectively Monday.

At Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Sports City in Madina, Al-Shabab beat its host Al-Ansar 2-0.

Ahmed Al-Ka’abi put Al-Shabab in the lead six minutes before the break. Naji Majrashi succeeded to score from the spot in the 59th minute to seal the win for the three-time title holder.

At Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz Sports City in Qatteef, Al-Ahli defeated its host Al-Khaleej 3-2 in a 120-minute match.
Adel Sultan of Al-Khaleej put his team in the lead in the 16th minute. Badr Al-Kharashi equalized for Al-Ahli in the 37th minute before Hasan Al-Rahib’s header increased the margin. However, Mahmood Al-Sa’igh leveled the score in the 87th minute before Al-Kharashi sealed the win in the 98th minute.

In another match, Al-Hilal won over its host Abha 2-0 at Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Sports City Stadium.
Ahmed Al-Suwayleh put his team in the lead after 28 minutes before a header by Hasan Khairat sealed the win for the Blues in the 64th minute.

Al-Fateh had already qualified for the semifinals defeating Al-Ta’awon 2-1 Sunday.

On Saturday, Al-Hilal will host Al-Ahli at King Fahd International Stadium and Al-Fateh will host title holder Al-Shabab at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Sports City.

Princess Hissa awarded for her charity work

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Princess Hissa Al-Sha’alan, spouse of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was this week awarded a shield of recognition from the International Afro-Asian Writers Organization on her charity contributions.

Professor Hind Al-Khothaila, Secretary General of the National Charity Establishment for Health Care (NCEHC) received the award on behalf of the Princess at a ceremony held in Cairo. She also delivered her speech.
“It pleases me to thank you for your initiative to promote your message which reveals that the Arab woman can contribute effectively in her society, and produce promising generations,” Princess Hissa said in her speech that was delivered on her behalf by Professor Al-Khothaila.

She added that Arab woman is still in the initial stage to assert her productive position in the society as she is the second half of the society.
“The missing role of Arab woman goes back to centuries of ignorance. Thus, she felt the heavy weight, but with her determination, she has started on her way to overcome obstacles,” Princess Hissa said.

She added that the wise Arab leaderships have paved the way for Arab women to take their chances and become productive members of the society.
“Saudi woman is taking her chance to become creative. This is really an evidence on her interaction with her society and her ability to prove herself,” she said

According to Princess Hissa, Saudi women have achieved exceptional objectives in a record time. “We have highly efficient women who are physicians, engineers, teachers, academics, sociologists, envoys and lawyers. Before all of that, we have perfect mothers at homes and an honorable place in their societies,” the Princess added.

She highlighted the charity contributions of Saudi women revealing that some 600 multi-purpose charity establishments in Saudi Arabia have been set up by women.
“With distinctive and high quality services, the National Charity Establishment for Health Care is an example on charity works in the Kingdom,” she said.

Commenting on the award, Dr. Intisar Felemban, director of the international organization in Saudi Arabia, said that the Princess’s educational and health development efforts are remarkable.
“She has sponsored many charity activities everywhere. The NCEHC, established in 1998, is an example on her humanitarian works,” Felemban said.

The NCEHC, she said, cares for the patients with chronic diseases, irrespective of religion and nationality.
“The NCEHC provides home health care and is the first of its kind in both Asia and Africa. Globally, it is the fourth establishment that provides home medical care to the patients,” Felemban added.

She revealed that the NCEHC has helped more than 30,000 patients. This has surely, she said, reduced pressure on hospitals.

Prince Mit’eb to take part in Dubai show-jumping

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Prince Abdullah Bin Mit’eb Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz will represent Saudi Arabia in the International Show-Jumping Championship that kicks off at Bab Al-Shams Club in Dubai on Jan. 7.

The three-day tournament is expected to witness keen duels as the tournament is classified as one of the Arab League Equestrian events that qualifies winners to participate in the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) World Cup 2010.

Prince Abdullah Bin Mit’eb announced that he is banking on his horses (Mobily Al-Rayan, Mobily Al-Saudiah, Mobily Lilmajd and Mobily Allah Jabak) to compete in the six-round tournament.

Prince Abdullah is on the top of the table of the Arab League with 69 points after his successful performances in Damascus and Doha respectively.

Participants of Dubai event are Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Lebanon and Syria.
Prince Abdullah Bin Mit’eb, Mobily’s strategic partner, has won many laurels for Saudi Arabia.

Inter beats Hilal 1-0

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Italian League leader Inter Milan beat Al-Hilal 1-0 in a friendly match marking the retirement of former Saudi international Nawaf Al-Timyat in Riyadh Saturday.

A late Diego Milito goal proved enough for the night. Both teams, playing with 5-4-1 formation, started with their key players. Hilal looked confident making several attacks on the visitor’s goal. Hilal’s Swedish striker Christian Wilhelmsson disturbed the Inter defense more than once.

Nawaf Al-Timyat also put on a good show. His 21st minute kick from outside the area went wide.

On the other hand, neither Samuel Eto’o nor his teammates threatened Al-Deayea’s goal in the first half.

Inter threatened Hilal more often after the break. At least three real chances were foiled by substitute keeper Hasan Al-Otaibi. Most dangerous of these was Barwuah Balotelli’s kick, from close to the spot kick area, which Otaibi managed to convert into a corner in the 47th minute.

Balotelli came face to face with Otaibi again in the 71st minute, but the keeper won the contest. Soon after a Balotelli header missed the bar.

Al-Timyat was replaced in the 55th minute by his Romanian teammate midfielder Meriel Radoi. He was seen off warmly by the players and the fans.

Argentinean Diego Milito scored for Inter Milan in the 85th minute after Majid Al-Marshadi failed to control a cross. The striker dribbled past defenders before putting the ball in the Hilal net.

Hilal pressed the visitors after the goal and Radoi almost scored the equalizer from a foul kick, which the keeper saved.

During the break, Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, President of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, and his Deputy Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal presented memorial shields to Timyat.
“Al-Timyat is a special player of good conduct. He has served Al-Hilal and the national team well and I wish him the best,” Prince Sultan said.

Timyat thanked Prince Sultan and Prince Nawaf for their support to Saudi sportsmen.