Nasr draws with Ahli

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Nasr shared two goals with its guest Al-Ahli in round 20 of the Saudi Zain Professional League at King Fahd International Stadium Saturday.

After this draw, Nasr is fourth on the standings with 31 points and two delayed matches against Hazm and Wehdah. Al-Ahli is fifth with 27 points and a match in hand, against Hazm. Wehdah is sixth with 26 points and two matches in hand.

Nasr midfielder Ahmed Abbas put the host in the lead in the 24th minute before Ahli Brazilian striker Victor Simoes leveled the score six minutes after the break.

The two teams played an interesting match and threatened each others’ goal several times. In the 19th minute Ahli striker Malik Mo’adh hit the Nasr post.

However, Mohammed Al-Sahlawi and Figueroa of Nasr were no luckier than Mo’adh when two of their attempts hit the Greens’ post. The teams then exchanged counterattacks but the teams goalkeepers were performing well while strikers of both teams were not lucky enough

3 bottom clubs fight for survival

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – The three bottom clubs of the Saudi Zain Professional League continued their fight for survival. However, goal difference will seem to be decisive in the next rounds.

Two teams, Al-Ra’id and Al-Qadisiyah, are in the 10th and 11th positions on the standings with 14 points each after their wins in the 20th round of the competition.

Najran, which was 10th before the 20th round, is now 12th following its defeat by its guest Al-Ra’id 1-0 at Al-Okhdoud Club Stadium Friday.

Mohsen Al-Qarni scored his team’s only goal ten minutes before the break.

The host team failed to gain anything from this crucial encounter. Najran striker Al-Hasan Al-Yami, who played alone upfront, had not recovered fully from a previous injury and it affected his performance.

With one match still in hand, the winner is now tenth with 14 points with an eight-goal difference ahead of Al-Qadisiyah which has the same number of points.

On the other hand, Al-Qadisiyah defeated its guest Al-Hazm 3-1 at Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium. The win moved the host from the bottom to the 11th place.

Qadisiyah goals came through the Brazilian striker Nelson Figueredo in the 7th minute, the Nigerian striker John Jampo in the 68th before Peruvian midfielder Juan Cominges sealed the win from the spot in the 90th. Hazm’s only goal was scored by midfielder Abdullah Al-Hayder, a minute before the break.

On Saturday, Al-Nasr will host Al-Ahli at King Fahd International Stadium. Nasr is fourth with 30 points and two matches in hand. On the other hand, Ahli is sixth with 26 points (eight goal difference) behind Al-Wehdah.

Al-Hilal handed Saudi Professional League trophy

Photo caption: Al-Hilal players celebrate with the Saudi Zain Premier League Trophy after their win against Ittifaq at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh Thursday. - AP

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and President of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, awarded the Zain Saudi Professional League Trophy to Al-Hilal in Riyadh Thursday.

The awarding ceremony followed the Hilal vs. Al-Ittifaq match, which Hilal won 1-0 at the King Fahd International Stadium where most of the seats were occupied by the Hilal fans.

Al-Ittifaq defender and skipper Sayyaf Al-Bishi handed Hilal the lone goal of the game when he scored an own goal in the 75th minute.

Hilal skipper Yasser Al-Qahtani had earlier in the first half made several attempts at Ittifaq goal but was denied by keeper Mohammed Khoja. Another attempt by Hilal’s Majed Al-Marshadi hit the bar.

After the match Hilal players celebrated the victory with their fans who were granted free tickets by the team’s sponsor Mobily.

Although Hilal had clinched the title after the 19th round win, the Blues’ coach fielded a full-strength team to win the numbers’ game as well. After 20 matches Hilal has won 17, drew two and lost one (against city rival Al-Nasr).

Hilal midfielder Mohammed Al-Shalhoub is still the top scorer in the league with 12 goals, followed by Thiago Neves with 11.

The trophy, handed over to Hilal, is a silver hand-made item very much like the trophies handed to champion sides in Europe. It is made by the famous English company Asprey, which has a long history of designing sports awards. The winner’s name will be carved on the analogous cup, which is 90 percent the size of the original cup, to be handed over to the winning team.

In the other matches of the night Al-Shabab beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 and Al-Wehdah thrashed Al-Fateh 6-1. Moroccan striker Abdul-Karim Benhania scored a hat trick in Wehdah’s win.

Wehdah is fifth in the standings with 26 points, while Fateh is eighth with 21.

Shabab, meanwhile, stayed second with 40 points, 13 behind the champion Hilal while Ittihad is third on 36.

Six-a-side football event in the offing

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Fitness Time is organizing the country’s biggest six-a-side football tournament to be held concurrently in nine cities of the Kingdom, it was announced here Saturday.

The tournament, under the theme “Footbal Revolution” aims to show the initiative to set up sporting events at a high level of organization and planning in order to involve the community in vital activities.

According to Abdul-Mohsen Al-Haqbani, Chairman of the Board of LJAM Sport Company, the tournament coincides with World Cup 2010, the time when football mania reaches its peak. He added that the competition gives a golden opportunity to local clubs to discover new football talents. “Football arouses enthusiasm of the larger segment of the world population of different age groups and cultures. Saudi Arabia is no exception,” he told a press conference.

A recent study, Haqbani said, has found out that nearly 82 percent of their patrons play football in addition to body-building, fitness regimes and aerobics.

“Some 78% of our visitors practice swimming as an additional activity while 53% play volleyball. Basketball came third at 38%. Handball is being played by only 19% of the visitors,” he said.

Haqbani also announced that their social responsibility has made them decide to introduce a specialized health magazine. “For this publication, we will hire health expert writers to target the community health concerns and shed light on the importance of preserving good health. We will also try to help fight the society’s most dangerous phenomenon; obesity,” Haqbani added.

Haqbani told Saudi Gazette that they are ready to host women in their centers whenever approved by the authorities.

The four-month competition will go through three stages; the registration stage which expires on March 23, and the playoffs stage in the period from March 25 until April 21. Registered teams will compete for representation of their city on a card at the final stage which extends from April 22 until the final match on May 6.

Mohamed Sabih, Marketing Manager at LJAM Sport Company, predicted that the registration stage will produce 5,500 participants. “Teams from Riyadh, Jeddah, Madina, Khamis Mushayt, Makkah, Tabuk, Hail and Dammam will compete in knockout matches,” Sabih said.

Al-Hilal clinches Saudi League title

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Hilal secured the Zain Saudi Professional League title after beating its host Al-Hazm 2-0 at Al-Hazm Club Stadium Sunday.

With 50 points and three more matches to go, Hilal also secured a place in the AFC Champions League. The win hands Hilal 49 crowns, 12 of them league titles.

In other matches, Ittihad defeated its host Al-Nasr 1-0, while Al-Ra’id beat Al-Qadisiyah 2-0 at home.

Striker Eissa Al-Muhayani put Hilal in the lead five minutes before the break. Nawaf Al-Abed sealed the win in midway through the second half.

Hilal and Hazm put on a good performance from the start, but the latter could not resist the league leader’s stars for long.

Christian Wilhelmsson was at his usual best and it was on his cross that young striker Muhayani kicked with his heel to put Hilal up 1-0.

Al-Abed, a replacement for Wilhelmsson, put Hilal up 2-0 for good in the 72nd minute when he hit the ball which bounced off Hazm keeper on a shot by Brazilian midfielder Thiago Nevez.

Both the sides made a couple of replacements each but they did not do them any good.

Hazm dearly missed the services of the injured Salahuddin Eqal and Waleed Al-Jaizani, who has left for Al-Shabab.

The match again saw a breach in security when two teenagers entered the field but were arrested before they could reach Yasser Al-Qahtani, towards whom they seem to be running.

An early and the only goal at King Fahd International Stadium by striker Talal Al-Misha’al gave Al-Ittihad three points in its match against Al-Nasr.

The unmarked Al-Misha’al headed the ball into the right corner of Nasr keeper Khaled Radhi on a cross from Saud Kariri in the 3rd minute.

Ittihad is third in the standings with 36 points and has a match in hand, while Al-Nasr is fourth on 30 points and two matches in hand.

Ra’id, meanwhile, collected its three points with a 2-0 win over 10-man Al-Qadisiyah at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.

Abdul-Majeed Al-Ruwali and Mousa Al-Shammari scored the goals.

The win puts Ra’id in the 11th spot with 11 points and a match in hand. Al-

Qadisiyah, however, is a spot behind with the same number of points but a nine-goal difference.