Peru winger Andre Carrillo emerged as the extra-time hero when his rebound earned a rollicking 3-2 King’s Cup quarter-final win at Ettifaq and ended Al Hilal’s mini-slump.
Zoran Mamic’s relieved visitors to Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium had also required a towering 95th-minute header from Saudi Arabia centre-back Mohammed Jahfali to avoid defeat in normal time.
A first-half penalty from wide man Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi and Argentine forward Cristian Guanca’s low 87th-minute finish had twice given Ettifaq the lead, with veteran midfielder Mohammad Al Shalhoub’s 25-yard free-kick past the hour mark previously making it 1-1. The stage was then set for Carrillo, who reacted quickest to right-back Yasser Al Shahrani’s saved stinger in the 105th minute.
UP FOR THE CUP
Such was the intensity of end-to-end action in this undulating, electrifying tie, it felt like watching tennis.
A ridiculous 29 attempts were registered by Hilal, while Ettifaq did their bit with 20.
Remarkably, this mania was not a one-off in games between the clubs. November’s 4-1 victory for Hilal in the Saudi Professional League contained a combined 30 attempts on goal, in 90 minutes.
RESPITE FOR MAMIC
The walls were continuing to close in on Hilal boss Zoran Mamic.
Jahfali’s last-gasp intervention then prevented a third-successive winless match, in all competitions. Carrillo’s clincher later exorcised a modicum of pain from Friday’s Riyadh derby loss to Al Nassr that saw a long-term lead in the Saudi Professional League surrendered.
Mamic will be a relieved man. He fielded a depleted side as injury and fixture intensity bit.
A repeat of the second-half switch to a 4-1-4-1 formation eventually came up trumps, unlike at Nassr.
ETTIFAQ’S ANGUISH
There is much to admire about mid-table Ettifaq’s approach.
They put faith in exciting young Saudi talents, like wingers Abdulrahman Al Aboud and Al Kuwaykibi. They also regularly pick out unheralded foreign gems – Colon loanee Guanca now has 15 goals in 26 run-outs.
They, agonisingly, camp up short on Monday night. But their strategy remains solid.