Hilal players celebrate with the Saudi Zain Premier League Trophy after their win against Ittifaq at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh Thursday. - AP JEDDAH – Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation and President of the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, awarded the Zain Saudi Professional League Trophy to Al-Hilal in Riyadh Thursday. The awarding ceremony followed the Hilal vs. Al-Ittifaq match, which Hilal won 1-0 at the King Fahd International Stadium where most of the seats were occupied by the Hilal fans. Al-Ittifaq defender and skipper Sayyaf Al-Bishi handed Hilal the lone goal of the game when he scored an own goal in the 75th minute. Hilal skipper Yasser Al-Qahtani had earlier in the first half made several attempts at Ittifaq goal but was denied by keeper Mohammed Khoja. Another attempt by Hilal's Majed Al-Marshadi hit the bar. After the match Hilal players celebrated the victory with their fans who were granted free tickets by the team's sponsor Mobily. Although Hilal had clinched the title after the 19th round win, the Blues' coach fielded a full-strength team to win the numbers' game as well. After 20 matches Hilal has won 17, drew two and lost one (against city rival Al-Nasr). Hilal midfielder Mohammed Al-Shalhoub is still the top scorer in the league with 12 goals, followed by Thiago Neves with 11. The trophy, handed over to Hilal, is a silver hand-made item very much like the trophies handed to champion sides in Europe. It is made by the famous English company Asprey, which has a long history of designing sports awards. The winner's name will be carved on the analogous cup, which is 90 percent the size of the original cup, to be handed over to the winning team. In the other matches of the night Al-Shabab beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 and Al-Wehdah thrashed Al-Fateh 6-1. Moroccan striker Abdul-Karim Benhania scored a hat trick in Wehdah's win. Wehdah is fifth in the standings with 26 points, while Fateh is eighth with 21. Shabab, meanwhile, stayed second with 40 points, 13 behind the champion Hilal while Ittihad is third on 36.
