Hilal beat its home rival Al-Nasr 2-1 in their Saudi Premier League match at the King Fahd International Stadium on Saturday. The win put the defending champion Al-Hilal in the second spot with 13 points, only three points ahead of Jeddah giant Al-Ittihad which topped the table Friday, following a 2-1 win over Al-Ahli. The 2007 AFC Player of the Year Yasser Al-Qahatni put Al-Hilal ahead 20 minutes into the first half before Ahmed Al-Fraidi extended Al-Hilal lead. After several attempts Brazilian Alton Jose reduced the margin for Al-Nasr just few minutes from the final whistle. Besides losing an important match, Al-Nasr failed to end its five-year wait to defeat Al-Hilal in the Saudi Premier League as the last victory for Al-Nasr was recorded in the mid of 2004. Al-Nasr is in the third place with 11 points, one point ahead of the fourth placed Al-Wehdah. The match witnessed one of the biggest crowd in the season as more than 50,000 supporters from both the teams flocked the Stadium about four hours before the match. Both teams took the field with all the guns blazing. Only Al-Hilal's Tariq Al-Taib missed the match due to the 4-month FIFA ban. Hilal International striker Yasser A-Qahtani broke the deadlock when he headed the Swedish international Christian Wilhelmsson's cross into the net of Mohammed Al-Kawjali. The goal gave Al-Hilal the advantage but a determined defense of Al-Nasr denied it doubling the score. In the 25th minute, the first threat for Nasr came when Saad Al-Harthi crossed the ball to Alton but ace goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Daeyea advanced to convert it into a corner. Wilhelmsson sent another ball to Ahmed Al-Swaileh who slashed it near the right post. In the 38th minute, Ahmed Al-Fraidi doubled the lead as he drove in from close. After the break, Al-Nasr's Croatian boss Radan pushed forward with Benin international striker Razak Omotoyossi while his Romanian counterpart Cosmin Olaroiu worked to secure his midfield and defense areas. Al-Nasr created some threats on Al-Hilal through Alton and Al-Harthi. The 4-5-1 formation enabled Al-Hilal to break Al-Nasr attempts before reaching the danger areas. A header from Omotoyossi almost found Al-Hilal net in the 89th minute but Al-Deayea saved the situation. In the 91st minute, Alton Jose converted from about 20 yards. __
