Al-Shabab and Al-Ahly reach final of SAFF Women’s Cup

Al-Shabab's players celebrate reaching the final of the SAFF Women's Cup after beating Al-Ittihad 5-4. (X/@saff_wfd)
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  • Al-Shabab overcame Al-Ittihad 5-4 in a dramatic semifinal clash in Riyadh

RIYADH: Al-Shabab defeated Al-Ittihad 5-4 in a titanic battle on Friday night to secure a place in the final of the ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵn Football Federation Women’s Cup against Al-Ahly, who had defeated Al-Qadsiah in the day’s other semifinal, Arriyadiyah have reported.

Star forward Al-Bandari Mubarak gave the home team a two-goal lead at Al-Shabab Stadium with strikes in the 30th and 32nd minutes, before Lili Iskanadr halved the deficit for Al-Ittihad in the 39th minute.

Noura Ibrahim re-established Al-Shabab’s two goal advantage in the 62nd minute and Fatima Mansour looked to have settled the match with a fourth on 71 minutes.

There was still plenty of time for flurry of late goals.

Al-Ittihad scored through Salma Amani (74) to make it 4-2, before Mai Sweilem put the match to bed with Al-Shabab’s fifth on 87 minutes.

Strikes by Seba Tawfiq in the 89th minute and Tala Al-Ghamdi in the second minute of stoppage time proved a mere consolation for Ittihad as Al-Shabab secured a famous 5-4 win.

In the day’s other semifinal, Al-Ahly overcame Al-Qadsiah 3-2 with two goals from Moroccan star Ibtisam Jaradi and one from Houria Al-Shamrani.

An own-goal and a strike by Ajara Njoya proved insufficient to save Al-Qadsiah from defeat.