Hilal lifted Crown Prince Cup after beating Al-Shabab 1-0 in the final match at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Friday. A late goal from defender Fahd Al-Mofarej sealed the victory for Riyadh giant Al-Hilal. Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Emir of Riyadh Region, handed over the cup and the gold medals to Al-Hilal players who celebrated the trophy for the second time in a row. President of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare and head of the Saudi Football Federation Prince Sultan Bin Fahd and his deputy Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal also attended the final. The title is the eighth for Al-Hilal in its history and the fourth in the last five years. The match which was managed by a French referees witnessed the participation of both sides' international players who will join the national team on Saturday. Al-Shabab coach Enzo Trossero started the game with a defensive 4-5-1 formation. Hilal's Cosmin Olaroiu, meanwhile, pushed forward with his all cards from beginning including the trio Romanian Meril Radoi, Swedish Christian Wilhelmsson and Libyan Tariq Al-Taib. The first half saw the both sides sharing the possession with no real threat on goals. After the break, Al-Shabab missed the services of its striker Nasser Al-Shamrani with a thigh injury. And Al-Shabab coach fielded Kuwaiti striker Ahmed Ajab. In the 65th minute, Al-Taib almost took the lead for Al-Hilal when he sent a long shot but Al-Shabab goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah made a good save. Five minutes into the first extra half, Wilhelmsson almost scored after a solo effort. His close-range shot hit the left post of Waleed Abdullah before defender Saleh Sediq cleared the ball from the goal line. As Al-Shabab players were looking to penalties, Al-Hilal clinched the winner through Fahd Al-Mofarej. The Hilal defender who played his first match since three months headed in a cross just seven minutes from the final whistle. Al-Shabab coach tried to equalize the score in the remaining minutes pushing with striker Naji Majrashi but Al-Hilal made it so difficult to reach the box. __
