Ittihad recorded a precious 1-0 victory over its city rival Al-Ahli in their second round match of the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Cup on Wednesday. Egyptian international striker Emad Meteb scored the only goal of the derby at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. The win helped Al-Ittihad extend its lead at the top of Group B with six points, three points ahead of Al-Ahli. Only one team each from four groups advance to the quarterfinals of the competition that kicked off last December with the participation of 12 teams. Al-Ahli was the better side in early minutes of the game but its strikers failed to find the net of Al-Ittihad. In the 34th minute, Meteb almost put Al-ittihad ahead when he headed off a corner but was cleared by Ahli defenders before the ball passing the goal line. Three minutes later, Mohammed Masad responded with a long shot that hit the bar of Taiser Al-Netaif. In the 40th minute, Meteb broke the deadlock when he connected Aqeel Al-Qarni's cross into the left side of Al-Ahli goalkeeper Mansour Al-Najae. After the break, Al-Ahli tried to level the game through some attempts by Abdul Raheem Al-Jizawi and striker Badr Al-Karashi. A golden chance came for Al-Ahli in the 75th minute when midfielder Saheb Al-Abdullah sent a long shot but Al-Netaif averted the danger. Crown Prince draw Defending champion Al-Hilal will have an easy mission to defend the Crown Prince title as the team faces Al-Watani in the opening match of the competition. Al-Hilal, which won last cup after edging Al-Ittifaq in the final match, was drawn in Group D along side Al-Watani, Al-Ansar and Al-Wehdah. In the same group, Al-Ansar hosts Al-Wehdah in Madinah and the winner will advance to the quarterfinals to play the winning team from Al-Hilal and Al-Watani clash in a knockout system. The draw which witnessed no surprises was held at the Grand Hall in the Prince Faisal Olympic Compound in Riyadh Wednesday. In Group A, Al-Shabab plays Abha while Al-Fatih hosts Ahli Jeddah in Al-Ahsa. Group B consists of Al-Hazm and Najran, while Al-Riyadh meets Al-Ittifaq. Al-Ittihad was drawn in Group C with Al-Raed while Al-Nasr plays Al-Feha at the same group. The draw was patronized by Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, Chairman of the Saudi Football Federation and it was also attended by Vice President Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal. The championship will kick off on Feb. 13. __
