I just want to say: what a typical boring win? Yes, it is very typical of al-Hilal to underperform and still be able to get the result. Those who have been following the team for some time know this very well, so no news here, I guess. I was disappointed and saying "the important thing: we got the result we wanted" won't make me feel any better.
Prior to the match I expected al-Hilal to start attacking aggressively since the kick-off. There was no reason to think otherwise: we have a better team, we play at home in front of a loud loyal crowd, and we just beat them on their ground recently. Think again. The blue team has suffered a very slow start, giving advantage to the guests who couldn't reject the generous Hilali gift. Pakhtakor have dominated the midfield and the pressing they exerted in our half of the pitch forced defenders to err several times.
Thirty minutes into the first half, Tareq gets the ball on the left flank, but his attempt to send it into the box is blocked by an opponent. He gains possession again, passes to al-Shelhoub, one touch to Tareq who takes his time and a glance to the area where Yassir and Rodrigao were expectingly waiting. The latter cleverly slips between the two center-backs and heads the ball in the net. It was one of the rare good moments in the match: a brilliant cross by Tareq and a brilliant move by Rodrigao.
Not much has changed in the 2nd half: the guests kept on putting their hosts under pressure, occasionally threatening and leaving plenty of wide open spaces behind, which the home team didn't know how to make use of. Tareq and Yassir left the pitch with minor injuries (actually I doubt they were 100% fit to start) leaving the team practically handicapped.
When the match was coming to an end, al-Shelhoub comes up with the other good moment in the match: a nice through pass to Rodrigao who found him self one-on-one with Pakhtakor goalkeeper who had no choice but to stop the striker illegally. Penalty. The goalie clearly deserved a red card, but the ref did not even give him a warning. It didn't matter much to al-Hilal, but Kuwaitis should be angry. Rodrigao scores from the spot. The match ends. Now we have one match left in the ACL against Kuwait Club away, and we need only one point to qualify to the next stage, but with a performance like what we've seen in Riyadh this could be really difficult.
On the local front, one point is also all what we need from our last two matches to finish on top. Tonight al-Hilal is to host jubilant al-Ahli who outplayed rivals al-Ittihad on Friday to win the Crown Prince Cup. A second trophy, and a perfect closure of the season for the residents of the Green Fort. It will be a good game. It should be. Al-Hilal and al-Ahli usually put a decent display when they face each other, and this will be the forth time they do it this season. Al-Ahli have knocked al-Hilal out of CPC so this might be the chance for Paqueta's boys to pay them back.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Asian Nostalgia
As Wednesday approaches, I bet that many fans are reminiscing the golden memories of their team's Asian glories. On the eve of April 25, Al-Hilal will take on Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor at King Fahad International Stadium in Riyadh, kick-off at 20.45.
We need to win, and we need to score at least three goals. Some might say any victory will do regardless of the result, but I really believe that if we were not to take the advantage of playing in home we might regret it later. A big win on Wednesday means we will be much more comfortable when we play our last match in the group against Kuwait Club away. The team is in good shape and the spirits are high, and with Al-Taib back from injury we should be able to keep our good form.
We need to win, and we need to score at least three goals. Some might say any victory will do regardless of the result, but I really believe that if we were not to take the advantage of playing in home we might regret it later. A big win on Wednesday means we will be much more comfortable when we play our last match in the group against Kuwait Club away. The team is in good shape and the spirits are high, and with Al-Taib back from injury we should be able to keep our good form.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Ridiculous Rumor
Last week was tough on the blue team. After being knocked out of the Crown Prince Cup on the hands of Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal had to leave to Uzbekistan where they played the local Pakhtakor on match day 3 in the AFC Champions League groups stage. Following a disappointing 1-1 draw to Kuwait Club in Riyadh on match day 1, this match was crucial if the team wanted to keep their hopes alive in Asia's most prestigious club competition.
Al-Hilal had put an impressive display in the People's Stadium in Tashkent, snatching a 2-0 win. Both goals were scored early in the second half: Omar scored with a beautiful strike on the rebound after Al-Shelhoub's free kick hit the wall on the 52nd minute. Seven minutes later, Al-Shelhoub was involved again as he passed a through ball to Yassir but he could not control it, only to find his Brazilian teammate Rodrigao who easily put it in the net.
Following the much-needed away win, the team were quickly back to Riyadh on a private jet to prepare for the capital's derby against rivals Al-Nassr. Upon their arrival, newspapers and online forums were circulating a ridiculous rumor: a big fight burst on the airplane when Sami, Al-Deaie and Aziz drank alcohol, and some players tried to stop them. For me, the obvious explanation is not far from this: Because they know their team have become too weak to compete with Al-Hilal, some Nassrawi propagandists thought they could shake the team's confidence using this cheap tactics. It took about two days for Al-Hilal VP Tariq Al-Twaijri to come out and say the rumor was totally false, and that the three players would start the derby, rejecting media reports that the club have suspended them on the background of the aforementioned rumor.
Unfortunately, last night's derby did not live up to the usual expectations. Al-Nassr had the upper hand in the first half, and Saad Al-Harthi in particular seemed dangerous. He could slip behind Al-Hilal center-backs several times but his attempts lacked the last touch. Al-Hilal had a few chances too, most notably Yassir's acrobatic move, but his shot was a bit wide. I think most of Al-Zaeem fans were happy to hear the whistle ending the first half goal-less.
Al-Hilal started the second half in a better shape, but it was obvious that they were desperately the injured Libyan playmaker Tariq Al-Taib. Furthermore, Paqueta have decided to keep the two players who could in a way or another play Al-Taib's role on the bench. In the time I was waiting to see Paqueta bring in Sami or Nawaf, he had to take Yassir out because he picked up a minor injury and brought Fahad Mubarak in. Yassir has been out-of-form for the past few matches, and I thought this game would be his big comeback, but it wasn't. Mubarak was energetic, his fast moves have made some troubles to Al-Bahri, but he also missed two chances in front of the goal.
As the last third of the second half was approaching, left-back Al-Khathran moved quickly in the flank, crossing the ball inside the box to the anticipating Mubarak and Rodrigao, but before it reached its target, it was deflected by Ahmed Al-Khair and it's in the net. The OG was enough for Al-Hilal, who didn't put much effort in the few remaining minutes, especially that their opponents did not look threatening. By the end of this match, Al-Hilal needs only one point out of their next two matches against Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab to secure the top position in the league.
The team now have ten days to relax and get ready to play Pakhtakor again, but this time in King Fahad International Stadium in Riyadh on April 25. It will be a good chance for Paqueta to work on improving the performance which was much less than satisfactory.
Al-Hilal had put an impressive display in the People's Stadium in Tashkent, snatching a 2-0 win. Both goals were scored early in the second half: Omar scored with a beautiful strike on the rebound after Al-Shelhoub's free kick hit the wall on the 52nd minute. Seven minutes later, Al-Shelhoub was involved again as he passed a through ball to Yassir but he could not control it, only to find his Brazilian teammate Rodrigao who easily put it in the net.
Following the much-needed away win, the team were quickly back to Riyadh on a private jet to prepare for the capital's derby against rivals Al-Nassr. Upon their arrival, newspapers and online forums were circulating a ridiculous rumor: a big fight burst on the airplane when Sami, Al-Deaie and Aziz drank alcohol, and some players tried to stop them. For me, the obvious explanation is not far from this: Because they know their team have become too weak to compete with Al-Hilal, some Nassrawi propagandists thought they could shake the team's confidence using this cheap tactics. It took about two days for Al-Hilal VP Tariq Al-Twaijri to come out and say the rumor was totally false, and that the three players would start the derby, rejecting media reports that the club have suspended them on the background of the aforementioned rumor.
Unfortunately, last night's derby did not live up to the usual expectations. Al-Nassr had the upper hand in the first half, and Saad Al-Harthi in particular seemed dangerous. He could slip behind Al-Hilal center-backs several times but his attempts lacked the last touch. Al-Hilal had a few chances too, most notably Yassir's acrobatic move, but his shot was a bit wide. I think most of Al-Zaeem fans were happy to hear the whistle ending the first half goal-less.
Al-Hilal started the second half in a better shape, but it was obvious that they were desperately the injured Libyan playmaker Tariq Al-Taib. Furthermore, Paqueta have decided to keep the two players who could in a way or another play Al-Taib's role on the bench. In the time I was waiting to see Paqueta bring in Sami or Nawaf, he had to take Yassir out because he picked up a minor injury and brought Fahad Mubarak in. Yassir has been out-of-form for the past few matches, and I thought this game would be his big comeback, but it wasn't. Mubarak was energetic, his fast moves have made some troubles to Al-Bahri, but he also missed two chances in front of the goal.
As the last third of the second half was approaching, left-back Al-Khathran moved quickly in the flank, crossing the ball inside the box to the anticipating Mubarak and Rodrigao, but before it reached its target, it was deflected by Ahmed Al-Khair and it's in the net. The OG was enough for Al-Hilal, who didn't put much effort in the few remaining minutes, especially that their opponents did not look threatening. By the end of this match, Al-Hilal needs only one point out of their next two matches against Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab to secure the top position in the league.
The team now have ten days to relax and get ready to play Pakhtakor again, but this time in King Fahad International Stadium in Riyadh on April 25. It will be a good chance for Paqueta to work on improving the performance which was much less than satisfactory.
Hello World!
This blog will follow Al-Hilal, one of Saudi Arabia's leading football teams. From time to another I might write about football in other places as well. I hope I would be able to update at least once a week; most probably on Mondays.
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