Ittihad set up Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup of Champions final against Al-Shabab after beating Al-Hilal 2-1 in the second leg semifinal match here, Sunday. Having beaten Hilal 4-1 in the first leg tie, the “Tigers”, as Ittihad is known, came out roaring and took lead in the first minute through Mohammed Noor. Ibrahim Al-Mofarij equalized for Hilal in the 30th minute, but Magno Alves' goal for Ittihad in the 90th minute put the result beyond any doubt. The Ittihad-Shabab final will be played at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Wednesday. It was only in the 38th second when Hilal striker Ahmed Al-Firaidi brought Mohammed Noor down outside the box. Chico hit the free kick to the unchecked Noor, who headed the ball in the left corner of Hilal keeper Mohammed Al-Deayea to send the home team fans in a frenzy. Ittihad players then started playing man-to-man and put up a strong defense wall, which proved difficult for Hilal strikers to break down. Hilal started pressing forward and threatening the Ittihad keeper, Tayseer Al-Nitaif. Ittihad keeper succeeded in blocking Nawaf Al-Timyat's forceful shot from outside the box, but failed to hold Hilal defender Ibrahim Al-Mofarij's shot in the 30th minute. Hilal attacks increased after the equalizer. Mohammed Al-Shalhoub and Nawaf Al-Timyat tried their best in the midfield, but Ittihad defender Mohammed Salem kept a lid on Hilal's trump card Yasser Al-Qahtani. It appeared that Hilal coach Kozmin had asked his players to shoot from outside the box since the Blues took six shots on the Ittihad goal from outside the box. Hilal players dominated the last 10 minutes of the game but failed to score a goal. With only Magno Alves in the circle, all Ittihad players moved back to defend their goal. In the 90th minute, Magno put his team up back in the lead when his shot from outside the box found the back of Hilal net. Ittihad players were cautious as well since a few of them had already received yellow cards in the tournament. Ittihad keeper Tayseer Al-Nitaif was the only one to receive a yellow card Sunday, while three Hilal players - Ahmed Al-Firaidi, Abdullah Al-Zori and Fahad Al-Mofarij - received yellow cards. Hilal will now meet Al-Hazm for the third spot. Shabab qualified for the final after beating Hazm 5-0 in the second leg semi, Saturday. __
