Ittihad won the third edition of the King's Cup after defeating Al-Hilal via a 5-4 shootout decision after the teams battled 120 minutes without a goal at King Fahd International Stadium Friday. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz who patronized the match, awarded the trophy and medals. Ittihad skipper Mohammed Noor received the King's Cup while Al-Nasr got the third-place award. Noor, who missed a penalty kick in the 89 minute, however, scored his team's last kick in the shootout after Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Za'id saved the fifth kick of Ahmed Al-Furaidy of Hilal. Saud Kariri, Abdul Malik Ziaya, Amine Chermiti and Rashid Al-Raheeb were the other scorers of Ittihad. Those who converted for Al-Hilal were Yasser Al-Qahtani, Eissa Al-Muhayani, Lee Young and Wilhelmsson. The champion Ittihad also won a prizemoney of SR4 million. Whereas Al-Hilal received SR2.5 million, Al-Nasr SR1.5 million and fourth-placed Shabab SR1 million. The two teams played very cautiously and both teams failed to make any serious attempt to score. However, Hilal striker Yasser Al-Qahtani tried a long shot, but Mabrouk Za'id, averted the danger. At the other end, Hilal defender Osama Hawsawi denied Algerian striker Abdul Malik Ziaya of Ittihad. And the boring first half ended barren. Upon the arrival of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques after the break, the Saudi national anthem was played. The King warmly waved his hand to the loud cheers of the crowd. After the break, Hilal's Belgian coach Eric Gerets's offside trap worked well against Ittihad. Hilal also began to dominate. From a corner kick in the 70th minute, Saud Kariri's header just missed the target. Gerets, then replaced midfielder Nawaf Al-Abed with striker Eissa Al-Muhayani in an attempt to press further. In the 77th minute, a header by Ittihad defender Ridha Takar went inches over the bar. Once again, Gerets replaced Brazilian midfielder Thiago Nevez with Ahmed Al-Furaidy. On the other hand, Argentinean coach Enzo Hector of Ittihad replaced the ineffective striker Sultan Al-Numari with the Moroccan striker Hisham Aboucherouane. In the 88th minute, Gerets' offside trap cracked. Noor received a long pass from Aboucherouane and entered the box. But Hilal defender Majed Al-Marshadi brought Noor down, conceding a penalty. However, goalkeeper Otaibi collected Noor's penalty kick easily. With Ittihad continuing to press during the extra time, Gerets replaced midfielder Omar Al-Ghamdi with another midfielder Khaled Aziz. But again, it was Noor who missed another chance. With an open net at his mercy, Noor kicked out.
