JEDDAH, 3 May 2008 — Al-Hazem pulled the rug from under favorites Al-Shabab last night to score a 4-2 victory in the first leg of their semifinal series in the King’s Cup for Champions football tournament.

Enjoying home field advantage in Al-Rass, Hazem jumped out to an early 1-0 lead behind the 26th minute goal from their Omani import Saeed Al-Shoun and proceeded to take control of the match.

Al-Hazem take a two goals lead for their away match next Friday in Riyadh.

Nasser Al-Shamrani scored both goals for Shabab including the equalizer in the 53rd minute, which went past the left-hand side of Jazem goalkeeper Mansoor Al-Najaei.

Shamrani’s second goal in the 72nd minute again restored parity in the match after Saud Al-Khaybari had put Hazem ahead with a penalty kick in the 61st minute. The match was touch-and-go after the sides were deadlocked at 2-2.

But Hazem asserted their supremacy on their own turf and not even a few minutes break for the maintenance crew to fix the sloppy goal post could stop the hosts from claiming a well-deserved victory.

Al-Khaybari slammed home his second marker of the night in the 77th minute to give Hazem a 3-2 lead before Abdullah Ghazi sealed the win with a goal in the 87th minute.

The victory proved Hazem’s conquest of Al-Nasr in their quarterfinal match-up was not a fluke. If they win the series against Shabab, Hazem enter the final of the season-ending competition as the ranked underdogs.