Nasr wins match, spot in 2011 ACL

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Nasr defeated visiting side Al-Hazm 1-0 in a Zain Saudi Professional League match in Riyadh Thursday.

The result weakened Al-Hazm’s (19 points) chances to be among the eight teams to be playing the King’s Cup for Champions.

The team still has three more encounters - against Al-Ahli, Najran and Al-Wehdah. Wins in those matches can help Hazm appear in the event.

The win took Al-Nasr’s tally to 34 points and helped secure a spot in the 2011 AFC Champions League. Nasr also has three more matches in hand - against Al-Wehdah, Al-Fateh and Al-Ra’id. If it wins all three it would take Nasr to the second spot in the league, behind champion Hilal (50 points).

However, this is conditioned to the stumble of the current runner-up, Shabab and its follower, Ittihad.

The only goal in Thursday’s game came through Argentinean midfielder Victor Figueroa from the spot four minutes before time.

There are still three more weeks of action in the league. The next match is on March 5 when Hazm will take on Ahli, with the next one on March 7 when Nasr takes on Wehdah.
Al-Ra’id will then face Al-Ittifaq on March 8.

Hilal wins, Shabab holds Sepahan

By Mohammed Al-Kinani and agencies

JEDDAH – After a disappointing opening day of the AFC Champions League, Saudi Arabian clubs redeemed some lost prestige when national champion Al-

Hilal thumped hosts Al-Sadd of Qatar 3-0 in Group D and Al-Shabab shared two goals with Sepahan of Iran in Group C at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Al-Ittihad was routed 3-0 by big-spending Uzbek club Bunyodkor in an away match and Al-Ahli missed a penalty on way to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Iranian side Esteghlal in Jeddah.

With one point each, Shabab and Sepahan share the second position in Group C after Pakhtakor Tashkent of Uzbekistan collected three points through a 1-0 victory over Al-Ain of the UAE.

Yasser Al-Qahtani scored twice for Al-Hilal. He headed in a cross from Thiago Neves, and then volleyed in another one in the 66th. Neves’ last-minute goal made sure the trip home to Saudi Arabia was much more comfortable.

In the other Group D match, Iran’s Mes Kerman thrashed Emirates visitor Al-Ahli 4-2.

Defender Seyed Hosseini put Sepahan in the lead before striker Faisal Al-Sultan of Shabab leveled the score.

Sepahan started pressing on its hosts and succeeded to dominate the first half. The Iranians scored an early goal through Hosseini who took advantage of a ball that bounced from Shabab keeper Waleed Abdullah. Hosseini’s flying header landed in the net.

Ali Otaif of Shabab entered the box in the 30th minute and shot but the Iranian goalkeeper Rahmati was in the right place to avert danger. Rahmati again stood in the way of Flavio.

In the 41st minute, Shabab keeper Abdullah saved his goal from Emad Mohammed.

On resumption Shabab coach replaced left defender Abdullah Al-Astaa with striker Naji Majrashi.

This replacement helped the team improve and press on. The unmarked Al-Sultan received a cross outside the area in the 69th minute. The striker controlled the ball and fired into the right corner of the Iranian goalkeeper. The goal encouraged the host team to launch more attacks but the Iranian defenders stood firm.

Elsewhere, South Korea’s Pohang Steelers lost its first game as defending champion beaten 1-0 at Australia’s Adelaide United.

Breaking from the halfway line following a Pohang corner, Adelaide teenage striker Matthew Leckie pressured Park Hee-chul to stab the ball past the latter’s goalkeeper in first-half stoppage time. Leckie was credited with the goal by match officials, as the ball possibly deflected off him last.

The champ two years ago, Gamba Osaka packed the midfield to stifle host Suwon Bluewings in a goal-less draw. The other Group G match was also a goalless draw, as Henan Construction of China dominated Singapore Armed Forces without any luck.

Besides Adelaide in Group H, China’s Shandong Luneng also emerged a winner from a valuable 1-0 win at Japan’s Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Ittihad, Ahli stumble on first hurdle

By Mohamed Al-Kinani and agencies

JEDDAH – Saudi clubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli made disastrous starts to their Asian Champions League campaigns Tuesday.

While Al-Ittihad was routed 3-0 by big-spending Uzbek club Bunyodkor in an away match, Al-Ahli missed a penalty on way to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Iranian side Esteghlal at home here.

The Uzbek side, coached by former Brazil World Cup-winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, got off to a strong start in Group B with a home victory against the former two-time champion from Saudi Arabia.

Former Brazil international Rivaldo, who was part of the Brazil side that won the 2002 World Cup under Scolari, put Bunyodkor ahead in the fourth minute.

Midfielder Jasur Hasanov doubled the advantage in the 21st, and Brazilian striker Denilson completed the scoring in the 67th. Denilson – namesake of the player who formerly was the world’s most expensive player – was making his first appearance for Bunyodkor in the ACL after helping Pohang Steelers win the competition last year.
Mohammed Noor missed a penalty in injury time.

In the other Group B match, Iran’s Zob Ahan began its second stint in the league with a 1-0 win over Abu Dhabi’s Al-Wahda striker Igor Castro’s score on the hour.

Ahli went down fighting against Esteghlal of Iran in Group A. Skipper Farhad Majidi scored in the 12th and 76th minutes for the visitors. Substitute Hasan Al-Rahib scored for Al-Ahli in the 85th.
Esteghlal keeper Mohammed Mohammadi was the man of the match as he kept Ahli players at bay most of the time.

He committed one mistake during the match when he brought down Abdurraheem Al-Jaizawi inside the box in the 68th minute. He, however, corrected that by denying Marcinho da Silva spot kick.

The defeat must have come as a shock to Ahli coach Sergio Farias, who won the title last year with Korea’s Pohang Steelers.

Addressing the press after the match Farias asked the fans to show patience saying that he has been with the team only for a month and players need experience for such tournaments. “The championship is tough and any participating team should have enough experience,” he said.

Despite the loss he praised his players’ efforts and said they were unlucky to have missed so many chances. “Congratulations to Esteghlal, but still have the away encounter,” he said.

In the other Group A encounter Qatar’s Al-Gharafa won 2-1 at Al-Jazira of the UAE with a 17th-minute goal from Othman Al-Assas and another in the 53rd from Younis Mahmoud. Rafael Sobis pulled one back for the hosts in the 56th at Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium.

Japan’s Kashima Antlers, South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Seongnam Ilhwa and China’s Beijing Guoan were also winners on the opening day of the group stage.

Kashima had a 1-0 home win over China’s Changchun Yatai in Group F, with the winner coming via a 43rd-minute header from midfielder Koji Nakata, who was back with the Antlers after spells with Marseille and Basel.

Replacement Kruno Lovrek posted a hat trick as 2007 champion Jeonbuk cruised past Persipura Jayapura of Indonesia 4-1 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

Kim Seung-yong’s penalty started off Jeonbuk before Lovrek was sent in midway through the first half and scored two minutes later.
Lovrek notched his second in the 66th, and after Ian Kabes replied for Persipura a minute later, Lovrek hit home his third with nine minutes to go.

In South Korea, Seongnam was 2-0 winner over Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale.

In the other Group E game, Beijing Guoan was 1-0 home winner over Australia’s Melbourne Victory.

Al-Hilal retains Crown Prince Cup

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Hilal claimed the Crown Prince Cup for the third successive time after edging Al-Ahli 2-1 at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Friday.

Brazilian striker Victor Simoes put Ahli in the lead in the first half, but Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson scored the equalizer for the Blues. Brazilian midfielder Thiago Neves’s goal midway through the second half made the difference for the defending champion.

Gracing the event, Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, later handed the gold medals to Hilal players before awarding the cup to the team’s skipper, Mohammed Al-Deayea. He also gave away the silver medals to Al-Ahli players.

Hilal banked on players on its left wing Abdullah Al-Zouri, Mohammed Al-Shalhoub and Wilhelmsson to make moves. Wilhelmsson kept on moving from one side to the other to add pressure on Ahli. Ahli, however, remained focused, played solid defense and looked for counter-attacks.
Simoes received a pass in the box two minutes before the break. He controlled the ball and kicked it into the right corner of Hilal keeper Hasan Al-Otaibi.

Yasser Al-Qahtani had an opportunity to equalize for Hilal a minute later but his header went high.

Hilal players returned after the break rejuvinated. They started attacking the rival’s goal more often which resulted in an equalizer for Hilal.
Qahtani reached the opponent’s area, dodged a defender and before the ball could go over the goal-line sent a cross to Wilhelmsson, who tabbed it into the goal in the 65th minute.

After the goal, the two coaches made a couple of changes. Hilal’s Eric Gerets brought in Nawaf Al-Abed for midfielder Mohammed Al-Shalhoub, while Ahli’s Sergio Farias replaced striker Malik Mo’adh with Abdurraheem Al-Jaizawi and Mohammed Al-Sifri with another midfielder Waleed Ba-Khashwain.
The changes, however, failed to help Ahli as Hilal managed to score another goal in the 77th minute.

Wilhelmsson received a long pass, which he controlled and advanced into the box before hitting a cross to his teammates in the six-yard area. Ahli keeper Abdullah Al-Ma’ayouf, however, deflected it to the unmarked Neves, who kicked it into the left corner of the keeper.

Farias bolstered his frontline with a striker, replacing midfielder Alaa Raishani with striker Hasan Al-Rahib, but the change bore no fruit.

A 90th-minute Ahli kick could have spoiled Hilal’s day, but the Brazilian Ahli Marcinho’s kick from outside the box hit the bar.

While Hilal players’ experience played an important role in the team’s defending the title, the absence of three key players - Saifuddine Ghazal, Mo’ataz Al-Mousa and Tayseer Al-Jassim - affected Ahli’s performance.

After the ceremony Hilal’s Belgian coach Gerets offered his gold medal to one of the disabled fan attending the match.

The administration of King Fahd Stadium confiscated around 1,500 scanned copies of entry tickets. The case has been referred to the authorities concerned.

It’s Hilal vs. Ahli in Crown Prince Cup final

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – It is Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli in the final of the Crown Prince Cup after the title holder Hilal defeated Najran 2-1 at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium Monday.

Yasser Al-Qahtani of Al-Hilal put his team in the lead and Majed Abu Yabis leveled the score for Najran. However, Al-Qahtani doubled the score for

Hilal to put the Blues in the final against Al-Ahli which had qualified Sunday after defeating Shabab 3-1 in a shootout after the teams shared four goals during the regulation and extra time.

Although Najran players knew they were facing the league champion, they pressed on their opponents during the first 15 minutes. Hilal then took the lead through its striker Al-Qahtani who received a cross from Omar Al-Ghamdi in the area in the 18th minute. Qahtani immediately kicked into the far left corner of Najran goalkeeper Jabir Al-Ameri.
Al-Ameri foiled another attempt by Qahtani in the 31st minute when the Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson sent another cross into the same area. Five minutes later, Wilhelmsson faced the goalkeeper but Ameri did his best to foil him.

Najran fought hard to equalize but the Hilal defenders and goalkeeper Hasan Al-Otaibi were at their best.

In the second half, the fast game continued and it was again Al-Qahtani who struck in the 52nd minute when he received a cross inside the six-yard area to nudge the ball into the bottom right corner of Al-Ameri.

Hilal then looked relaxed. On the other hand, Najran did not lose hope and fought spiritedly. Its players tried their level best to shake Al-Otaibi net.

Two minutes after Hilal second goal, Majed Abu Yabis free kick from outside the box found its way to the left corner of Otaibi. A few minutes later, Abu Yabis headed towards the goal but the ball hit the bar and Hilal defender saved the situation. Turki Al-Thaqafi failed to clear a ball that bounced off Otaibi in three minutes before the end of the exciting match.

The stadium was almost full by supporters of Hilal who went to see their team enter the final.

Hilal will meet Al-Ahli in the championship match on Friday at King Fahd International Stadium.

Training program for former drug addicts

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – The Technical and Vocational Training Board TVTB in Makkah Region has announced the launch of the third training program for former drug addicts.

Consisting four courses: secretary, office works, computer and English language, the program is a joint cooperation between the TVTB, the General Department for Combating Narcotics and Al-Amal Hospital.

According to Dr. Rashid Al-Zahrani, head of the Makkah TVTB, the program started Saturday with the presence of 64 drug addicts who have been treated successfully.
“The program comes as part of the TVTB’s social responsibilities and it will be followed by efforts to find suitable jobs for the recovered people,” Al-Zahrani said.

He stressed the importance of supporting these people through training them and making them productive members of the society. Al-Zahrani pointed out that the TVTB has held two similar programs where some 160 recovered people had finished 120 training hours of office works, 165 training hours of computer maintenance and 120 training hours of computerized accountancy.

Ahli in Crown Prince Cup final

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Ahli qualified for the final of the Crown Prince Cup after defeating Al-Shabab 3-1 in a shootout after the teams shared four goals during the regulation and extra time at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium Sunday.

Mo’ataz Al-Mousa put Al-Ahli in the lead before Faisal Al-Sultan scored an equalizer for Shabab. Waleed Al-Jaizani doubled the score for Shabab before Abdurraheem Al-Jaizawi leveled the score for Ahli.

In the 27th minute, Ahli striker Malik Mo’adh controlled the ball outside the area and lobbed it to the advancing Al-Mousa who, with one touch, beat the advancing Shabab goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.

In the second half, Shabab coach Pacheco replaced Abdul Aziz Al-Sa’aran with Faisal Al-Sultan in an attempt to strengthen his team’s frontline. Al-Sultan succeeded to level the score ten minutes after the break. The substitute received a long pass from Brazilian midfielder Camacho. He scored his team’s first goal when Ahli goalkeeper Abdullah Ma’youf left his goal to foil the attempt in vain. After this goal, Ahli coach Sergio

Farias proved that the name and fame do not matter much when it comes to deliver. He replaced two strikers. Farias replaced Hasan Al-Rahib with midfielder Abdurraheem Jaizawi and Malik Mo’adh with the 19-year-old striker Yasser Al-Fehmi.

A few minutes later, Ahli defenders failed to clear a cross pass in the area from Al-Sultan. The ball passed both Saifuddine Ghazal and Mohammed Musa’ad to find Waleed Al-Jaizani who effortlessly put it into the goal.
Pacheco replaced defender Abdullah Al-Ostta with midfielder Badr Al-Haqbani. In the 41st minute striker Abdurraheem Al-Jaizawi of Al-Ahli made a sole effort when he passed three defenders to face the goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah and kicked strongly into the goal.

In the shootout, Mohammed Al-Sifri, Mo’ataz Al-Mousa and the Omani midfielder Ahmed Kano scored for Al-Ahli while two kicks by the Brazilian Marcinho and Yasser Al-Fehmi were blocked by Shabab keeper Waleed Abdullah.

On the other hand, the kicks of Camacho and Ahmed Otaif of Al-Shabab went out while Ahli keeper Abdullah Ma’youf saved a kick by Badr Al-Haqbani.
However, Ali Otaif scored for Shabab.

On Monday, Al-Hilal and Najran will meet at the same venue to decide the second finalist which will meet Al-Ahli in the final Friday.

Hilal to take on Najran in semis

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

DAMMAM – Al-Hilal and Najran qualified to the semifinals of the Crown Prince Cup after defeating Nasr and Al-Ansar, respectively Wednesday.
Al-Hilal won over its city rival Al-Nasr 2-1 at King Fahd International Stadium.

Although Nasr scored first through Guinean midfielder Pascal Feindouno ten minutes after the break, Hilal succeeded to level the score through

Brazilian midfielder Thiago Neves in the 61st minute. The Blues doubled the score through the Swedish midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson in the 22nd minute of the extra time.

The city rivals fought an interesting match that pleased their fans who filled almost all seats.

Hilal set up a perfect offside trap for its opponent. However, a cross by Victor Figueroa went inside the box to Pascal who headed into the right corner of Hilal keeper Hasan Al-Otaibi.

Neves made several attempts from outside the area, but Khalid Radhi, keeper of Nasr, saved the midfielder’s attempts. However, Radhi failed to block a strong kick by Neves from outside the box. The kick landed at the far right corner of Radhi.

The two teams unleashed several attacks and witnessed dangerous plays by players of both the teams.

Nasr skipper left the field with an injury in his right knee. The match was taken to extra time.

Eight minutes before the final whistle Wilhelmsson received a cross inside the box from Eissa Al-Muhayani. Nasr defenders thought Wilhelmsson was in an offside position. The Swedish midfielder nudged the ball into the goal to secure his team’s win.

In another match, Najran defeated its host Al-Ansar 3-1 at Prince Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Stadium.

Najran defender gave the opponents a goal when scored an own goal in the 19th minute. However, his midfielder teammate Majed Abu Yabes leveled the score five minutes before the break.

With the full time ended with the same result, the match was taken to extra-time. The Congolese striker of Najran, Depa, put his team in the
lead in the 109th minute before his teammate Mohsen Al-Najrani sealed the win.

Najran will meet Al-Hilal in the semifinals Monday at King Fahd International Stadium.

A day before, Al-Ahli and Shabab will meet at the same stadium to decide the first finalist.

Awareness campaign on tooth decay targets kids

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Targeting one million children, a national awareness campaign to fight tooth decay will soon kick off.

This was announced Wednesday at the conclusion of the the three-day Saudi International Dental Medicine Conference held in Riyadh at the King Fahd Cultural Center.

Dr. Hussan Halawani, General Secretary of the Saudi Dental Society (SDS) and Head of the Saudi national campaign to fight tooth decay, announced that King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has approved the launch of a national campaign to fight tooth decay in children.
“On behalf of the King, minister of health will patronize a five-year-long, national campaign which was planned to target a million children,” Dr. Halawani added.

He pointed out that King Saud University (KSU) will host the national program and will be supervised by the children’s tooth decay research chair at the university.

He pointed out that the campaign will focus on all schoolchildren in their primary level.
“Tooth decay in youngsters is a serious health concern in Saudi Arabia,” he said and added that the name of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will surely give weight to the campaign that is expected to raise awareness about the health of our new generation.

Patronized by Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh, the three-day conference which was concluded Wednesday was organized by The Faculty of Medicine at KSU in collaboration with the SDS.

According to Dr. Halawani, the conferees discussed several issues related to oral and tooth health.
“The conference saw experts from both inside and outside the country,” Dr. Halawani said. He added that many seminars and workshops were also held on the sidelines of the gathering.

He thanked Prince Salman for patronizing the event which came as a fruitful addition to the development of Saudi health care services.

Ahli and Shabab set up semis clash

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab set up their Crown Prince Cup semifinal match after securing comfortable wins over Al-Fateh and Al-Ta’i respectively Tuesday.

While Ahli beat its host Al-Fateh 2-0 at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium, Al-Shabab secured a 3-1 win over visitors Al-Ta’i at King Fahd International Stadium.

Brazilian striker Victor Simoes’ double was enough to secure the last four spot for Ahli. He scored his first in the 61st minute and needed only three more minutes to double the lead for his team.

Fateh players’ early attempts to penetrate the green defense went in vain.

Neither the host team nor the visitors could score in the first half of the match with each team’s defense keeping the rival strikers at bay.

In the other match Shabab took the lead in the 26th minute through Abdul Aziz Al-Yousuf, who scored again 10 minutes later to double the margin.
Fahd Fallata’s lone effort bore fruit for Al-Ta’i when he succeeded in pulling one back 10 minutes after the break.

Shabab’s Brazilian midfielder Marcelo Camacho, however, put the result beyond any doubt in the 77th minute.

Ahli and Shabab will meet in the semis Sunday.

Champion Al-Hilal will play its city rival Al-Nasr, while Al-Ansar will host Najran in the remaining quarterfinals Wednesday. - SG