Al-Jizawi brace helps Ahli thrash Nasr 4-1
By Naif Muhammad
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Al-Ahli crushed Al-Nasr 4-1 in the final match to retain the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup of Champions at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Friday.
Abdulraheem Al-Jizawi scored a brace for Ahli, while Emad Al-Hosani and Kamel Al-Mousa added the other two goals. Richi scored the consolation goal for Nasr.
Ahli, which won the title for the 12th time, had finished second in the Saudi Professional League, which was won by Al-Shabab.
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, awarded Ahli the trophy along with the gold medals. He also handed silver medals to Nasr players.
Playing before a packed stadium, where the fans had occupied their seats hours ahead of the match, Ahli looked the hungrier of the two.
Ahli looked dangerous in the first half and came close to scoring a goal on more than one occasion. Nasr, however, managed to keep Victor and Emad Al-Hosani under check.
Lady luck finally smiled on Ahli in the 36th minute when Omani striker Al-Hosani found back of the net on a rebound from inside the box.
Midfielder Al-Jizawi made it 2-0 for Ahli in the first minute of action after the break when he blasted a perfect pass from Camacho to the right corner of Nasr keeper.
Muhammad Al-Sahlawi came close to scoring Nasr’s first goal but his 62nd-minute header went wide. Al-Sahlawi failed again a minute later when the ball was cleared by Ahli defenders in front of the net.
Al-Jizawi nearly secured Ahli’s third goal in the 65th minute when his long shot just missed the bar.
Nasr’s mission became difficult when its midfielder Haj Bugash was red carded in the 72nd minute. The mission literally became impossible when Al-Mousa scored the third goal for Ahli on a pass from Victor in the 75th minute. Al-Jizawi scored his second and Ahli’s fourth goal in the 76th minute when his full-blooded shot from inside the box blasted past Nasr goalkeeper into the left corner.
Nasr’s goal came in the 83rd minute through midfielder Richi. With only seven minutes to time it proved too little too late.
