A thriller is in the cards when Al-Ittihad meet Al-Hilal in the first leg of the first semifinal of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Hilal will miss its Libyan star Tariq Al-Ta'ib, who was instrumental in many of the team's victories. The playmaker is serving a four-match ban after the recent “infamous Makkah match”. The club administration promised that each player would receive a SR200,000 reward in case they won the championship. Meanwile, Yasser Al-Qahtani, Tavares, Khaled Aziz, Abdul Aziz Al-Khathrani and Majed Al-Marshadi have recovered from their injuries and will probably take part in the match. Hilal coach Kozmin has received the green light from the clubs' physio. On the other hand, Calderon, coach of Al-Ittihad, focused on the team's last training on the defense. He also prepared midfielders like Mohammed Noor, Chico and Manaf Abu Shogair with certain tasks and tactics, and asked them to support the strikers, Al-Hassane Keita and Abdul Rahman Al-Qahtani. The second leg match will also be played in Jeddah due to the SAFF penalty over Al-Hilal after its recent match with Al-Wehdah in Makkah. Ittihad players are determined to topple Al-Hilal which deprived them from the Saudi Premier League title with a single goal by Yasser Al-Qahtani. Al-Hilal qualified to this round after sharing points with Al-Wehdah in Riyadh 0-0 in the first leg match, and then defeating it in Makkah 2-1. Al-Ittihad played against Al-Ittifaq in Dammam where the two teams shared points 1-1. In the second leg, Ittihad thrashed its host 5-1. Late Tuesday, the General Secretariat of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation announced the names of the Spanish referees who will officiate the match. Bernardino Gonz?lez V?zquez, will be in the center with Pedro Fernandez and Victoriano Giraldez Carrasco assisting him as linesmen. Julian Rodriguez Santiago is the fourth referee. __
