18 years ago: the story of Al-Shabab's six goals that forced Al-Ahli to withdraw
An unforgettable historic story
This was not the first time Al-Ahli had shipped six goals in the mini clasico against their traditional rivals Al-Shabab. The same thing happened 18 years earlier.
Al-Shabab beat Al-Ahli 6-1 when the two sides met on Friday evening, at the SHG Arena in the Saudi capital Riyadh, in the twelfth round of the Roshn League.
During the match, Al-Shabab's account on "X" posted a picture of Al-Ahli's fans leaving the stadium while the game was still in progress, amid the heavy defeat, with the sarcastic caption: "This time the withdrawal is early."
After the final whistle, the capital club's account added: "We opened the book and wrote a new six-goal haul. Congratulations on the easiest victory, O Lions."
That dig pointed to the thrashing Al-Shabab handed Al-Ahli 18 years ago, on 18 April 2008, in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.
Mohammed Masaad put Al-Ahli ahead early, in the 18th minute. Then Al-Shabab hit back with six goals, including a brace from striker Nasser Al-Shamrani and one apiece for Faisal Al-Sultan, Camacho, Hassan Moaz and Juan Manuel Martinez.
According to the Saudi newspaper "Al-Riyadiah", the referee ended the match 10 minutes before the end of normal time, on the grounds that Al-Ahli no longer had the legal quorum of players, a large number of them having suffered various injuries.
Witnesses saw some Al-Ahli officials urging their players to drop to the ground, aiming to push the number of available players below the legal quorum of seven, so the match would end in withdrawal and a 0-3 defeat rather than 1-6.
Press reports say the Saudi Arabian Football Federation refused to record Al-Ahli as 3-0 losers and confirmed the defeat as a 6-1 scoreline. That result remains the biggest in the history of matches between the two teams.
Oddly enough, the two sides played the return leg in the same round about nine days later, on 27 April 2008, and Al-Shabab won that one too, this time 3-1.
Al-Ahli's latest defeat to Al-Shabab is the biggest they have ever suffered in the Saudi Roshn League, surpassing the 6-2 loss to Al-Ettifaq in the sixth round of the 2018-2019 season.
