2nd Week of Excellent-Division Football: Sanaa’s Ahli Defeats Aden’s Wahda [Archives:1998/49/Sports]

The Ahli of Sanaa football team defeated the Wahda of Aden 2-nil in match held last Friday, December 4 in Aden, as part of the Excellent-Division football Tournament. Ahli’s second winning since the beginning of the tournament on November 30 has increased its credit to 6 points. Aden’s Wahda, on the other hand, has remained without points.
First Half
Although Wahda’s strikers made a good performance during the first few minutes of the game, Ahli’s defenders – led by Salem Saeed and his brother Abdulrahman – were able to thwart all their attempts at scoring.
Mid-way during the first half of the match, Ahli and Wahda ran neck and neck in their attempts at scoring. Wahda’s famous duo, Mithaq Yousuf and Nawfal Hassan, made all they could to move the ball into their opponent’s court.
At the 19th minute of the game, Wahda’s striker Wijdan Al-Shadili almost scored, were it not for Ahli’s goalie Moad Abdulkhaleq. Just one minute later, Ahli retaliated with a strike led by Al-Salemi who shot the ball to his fellow striker Bashir Al-Haimi. The latter’s kick, however, sent the ball over the goal’s bar.
During the 27th minute of the match, with increasing pressure by Ahli and retreat by Wahda, Ahli’s striker Ali Al-Nounou shot the ball, right under the noses of Wahda defenders, to score his team’s first goal.
At the 33rd minute, Wahda tried to balance the score. Through individual effort, Wahda’s Sakhar Sawda struck from the left part of the field. However, due to the absence of a supporting striker, his attempt came to nothing.
Second Half
Ahli struck against Wahda’s goal in order to consolidate its lead in the match. During the second minute of the second half, Ahli’s striker Ali Al-Nounou took advantage of Wahda’s weak defenses. He shot the ball just above the goalie’s head to score his team’s second goal.
Thus Ahli played magnificently with a lot of enthusiasm. Wahda’s players, on the other hand, were not up to standard. This is Wahda’s second defeat this week, the first was 3-nil against Shaab of Ibb.
Other matches of the week saw Hilal of Hodeidah defeating Saqar of Taiz 3-2; Shaab of Ibb defeating Zohra 3-nil; Hassan tying with Ittihad of Ibb nil-nil; and Tali’a defeating Shoula 1-nil.
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