JEDDAH: A victor Simoes brace helped Al-Ahli set up the King's Cup of Champions final against defending champion Al-Ittihad after routing visitor Al-Wehdah 4-1 at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah Monday. Ahli and Wehdah had drawn their first-leg semifinal encounter 2-2. Brazilian striker victor Simoes put Ahli in the lead in the 30th minute with Kamel Al-Mor doubling Ahli's lead 10 minutes after the break. Omani striker Emad Al-Hosani made it 3-0 11 minutes later. Simoes succeeded in making it 4-0 in the 74th minute before Wehdah striker Salman Al-Subiyani pulled one back for the visitors. Ahli looked like a side determined to win and pressed for a goal from the start. Wehdah, on the other hand, missed the plot completely, playing close to its defenseline and launching only a few counter-attacks. One of these was in the 29th minute when Mohanned Aseeri was denied by Ahli keeper Yasser Al-Mosayleem. The reply, however, came within a minute when Simoes put a pass from his compatriot Marcinho Da Silva in the left corner of Wehdah keeper Ahmed Al-Fahmi. Ahli players pressed for more goals and found one in the 55th minute when the advancing Al-Mor tabbed a perfect cross from Omani striker Emad Al-Hosani into the visitors' goal. Aseeri could have reduced the margin ten minutes later when he came face to face with Al-Mosayleem but the later was alert enough to defend his goal. Two Green touches were enough in the 67th minute to add a third goal when skipper Mohammed Musa'ad sent a long pass to Al-Hosani who kicked it into Al-Fahmi's goal. Simoes lost a golden opportunity to add a fourth five minutes later after a one-two pass with Hasan Al-Rahib. However, Al-Rahib and Simoes repeated the scenario two minutes later, with the Brazilian making no mistake this time to add the fourth goal. Al-Subiyani of Wehdah pulled one back in the 78th minute when he kicked over Al-Mosayleem to make it 4-1. The final match is scheduled for Friday, while the third-spot match between Al-Hilal and Wehdah will be played Thursday. Trophy unveiled The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) Monday unveiled the new cup and medals which the winners will be awarded Friday. According to the SAFF website, the cup along with the gold, silver and bronze medals were designed and manufactured by Bertone — an Italian company specializing in manufacturing sport trophies.
