Thrilling matches

Last Saturday and Sunday three of the postponed matches were played, Ittihad vs. Hilal being the most important one.
Although in my opinion the matches could have been better, it was still thrilling all in all. For Ittihad and Hilal, both teams had some shortcomings. Ittihad had a pretty good play even though it lost. During the first half, Hilal was doing okay but not much of a threat to Ittihad’s goalie. In the second half, Hilal made the win! This match put Hilal in first place, but it has to work hard to keep its spot.
As for the other two matches Ahli had a draw against Ra’aed that put the Jeddah-based side back to its disappointing position. Just when Ahli fans were starting to feel good because of the victory against Ittihad, their beloved team pulled a draw. Nasr, on the other hand, got an advantage from a draw against Fateh that hindered the latter from getting the No. 1 spot. They now need to win the other postponed match against Ahli to finally get to the top.
Last but not least, the AFC gave Saudi Arabia back its fourth spot for the Asian Champions League. Four teams will now compete for the coming championship that will start next March — Shabab, Ahli, Hilal and Ittifaq. Hilal was drawn in the toughest group. Needless to say, their management together with the players and coaches must work harder. I wish everyone luck, hopefully one of them will get the title.

banderalahamad@yahoo.com