Shabab was crowned with the first edition of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Football Cup after beating Al-Ittihad 3-1 in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Wednesday. King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, graced the final and handed over the cup and the gold medals to Al-Shabab players. Besides being honored as the first team to win the new competition, Al-Shabab received SR4 million as the prize money. The occasion also witnessed the crowning of Al-Hilal with the Saudi League Trophy and the first and second division honors. Nasser Al-Shamrani was first to score in Riyadh final shortly after the kick-off and Abdullah Shuhail doubled the lead in the second half. Talal Al-Mishal reduced the margin few minutes from the close but Brazilian Marcello Camatcho sealed the win for Al-Shabab. The closing ceremony of the Saudi football season was attended by Prince Mit'eb Bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh region and Chairman of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW) Prince Sultan Bin Fahd and GPYW Vice Chairman Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal. Both finalists started the match with the same 4-4-2 formation but Al-Shabab had the upper hand early. Al-Shamrani waited only ten minutes before he gave the Riyadh Club the lead when his powerful right-footer hit the net of Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Taiser Al-Netaif. The early goal gave the home team the advantage in terms of possession and Faisal Al-Sultan almost doubled the lead four minutes later when found himself face to face with Al-Netaif but Al-Sultan shot the ball wide. In the midway of the first half, Al-Ittihad began gradually regain its form and launched several attacks on the Al-Shabab goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah. The 22-year-old goalkeeper was the hero of the Wednesday's clash as he stood firm against real scoring chances especially in the first half. The first chance for the visitors came in the 28h minute when captain Mohammed Noor shot a ball after a slip by Waleed but defender Saleh Sedeeq cleared the ball. Brazilian Marcello Camatcho responded with a 25-yard shot but it hit the left post of Al-Ittihad. After the break, Al-Ittihad coach Calderon recharged its midfield with Abdul Rahaman Al-Qahtani who replaced Manaf Abu-Shaqer. Al-Qahtani and Noor combined several times but the young goalkeeper of Shabab and the defenders continued their brilliant show. In the 79th minute, Al-Ittihad was hit again when the team lost the services of Ghanaian Elhassan Kieta after he was booked. Two minutes later, Al-Shabab made it safe when Abdullah Shuhail after a solo effort drove into the box and sent the ball to the right side of Al-Ittihad's net. Substitute Talal Al-Mishal reduced the margin in the 90th minute. The goal which made Al-Ittihad press forward but Brazilian Camatcho ended Al-Ittihad's hopes as he scored from a counter-attack, thanks to Abdo Atif's pass. __
