Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Two gold champions battle it out for gold in the finals of the Saudi Arabia Under-21 League
No one would have imagined eight months ago when the Elite Air League (Saudi Arabia’s under-21 league) began that the final scene would be devoid of the Big Four. Al-Hilal, Al-Nasr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli. Rather, it is between Al-Fateh and Al-Hazm.
Al-Fateh will face Al-Hazm next Saturday, May 23, at the Tamuel Al-Oula Square Stadium in Al-Ahsa City in the final of the Air Elite League.
The finale outside the golden square
The strange thing is that the final match will meet two teams that were not in the top four in the league stage and did not go directly to the quarter-finals because they had to play play-off matches.
Al-Fateh finished the league stage in sixth place on the table with 35 points, having scored 10 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses, two points behind fourth-placed Al-Taawoun, who qualify directly for the quarter-finals.
Al-Hazm, on the other hand, finished the league stage in 9th place with 33 points, earning 10 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses, forcing the second leg of the quarter-final play-off to be played away from home.
The two teams met in the league stage last February at Al-Hazm Club’s reserve stadium in Al-Ras. However, Al-Fateh managed to win 2-1.
Al-Fath…winner of victory
Al-Fateh went through a thrilling journey through the knockout stages of the Elite Aviation League, which began with a marathon win over Al-Wahda in the quarter-finals.
After losing the first leg 2-3, Al-Fateh managed to equalize in normal time in the second leg before their player Saad Al-Sharafa scored the decisive fourth goal in the penultimate minute of extra time.
But the most notable upset came in the quarter-finals when Al-Fateh defeated Al-Nasr, who finished third in the league, 4-1 and 3-2 after winning both home and away matches.
Al-Fathawi’s side’s surprises didn’t stop at Al-Nasr as Al-Qadisiya also progressed to the semi-finals despite a clean sheet defeat at home in the first leg, having won the second leg away with a clean sheet.
Watch Saudi Jawwy League on stc tvRegister now!
Al-Hazm… the conqueror of Al-Hilal
Al-Hazm’s journey was no less difficult, especially since he played all the return matches in the knockout stages away from home, but this did not prevent him from qualifying for the final match.
Al-Hazm started the qualifiers by overcoming Al-Ukhdoud in the quarter-finals after beating them by three clean sheets in the first leg and drawing with them by the same goal in the second leg.
In the quarter-finals, Al-Hazm faced Al-Etifaq, who topped the league stage but sprung the biggest surprise when they beat them 6-0 in the first leg, the biggest result in the knockout stages.
Despite losing the second leg 1-3, Al-Hazm advanced to the semi-finals, setting up a date with Al-Hilal and pulling off the biggest surprise.
The surprise was not only in eliminating Al Hilal, although that was enough, but in the manner in which he eliminated them. After a 2-2 draw at their home stadium in Al Ras, some thought that Al Zaem would host the second leg, but Al Hazm beat them cleanly at their home stadium in Riyadh.
Superstars
The final match will witness the appearance of many stars who have shone in the current Joy Elite League season, be it in the league stage or the knockout stages.
Al-Fateh feature a host of notable stars this season, led by En Ras, along with Saad Al-Sharafa, Othman Al-Othman and Egyptian winger Mohamed Rafaat.
On the other hand, Al-Hazm includes many outstanding talents such as Youssef Aliu, Fayez Hawsawi, Youssef Al-Shammari, Abdul-Hadi Al-Harajin, in addition to the champion of the game Al-Hilal Crossing in the semi-finals; Omar Muhammad.
Watch Saudi Jawwy League on stc tvRegister now!
Remarkable numbers
Since the launch of the Air Elite League, 260 matches have been played in the league, playoffs, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with 206 wins and only 54 draws.
So far, 778 goals have been scored in Saudi Arabia Under-21 League matches, with around 3 goals per game, which is a very high rate.
Al-Taawoun striker Bassem Al-Arini is the top scorer in the Elite Aviation League this season with 20 goals, 18 of them in the league stage, in addition to two goals in the quarter-finals.
