RIYADH: The second edition of the Xerox BFI Ryder Cup 2016 Matches recently ended in a 9-9 draw between Banks Team and Sama Team at Dirab Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Riyadh.
Sama failed to score a repeat of its resounding victory last year in the four-ball better-ball match play competition, but neither did Banks win. In the end, the sides representing golf-loving individuals from banks and financial institutions agreed to share the champion trophy.
It was a well-fought match, with each side trading wins for the duration of the one-day event sponsored by Saudi Xerox.
Sama’s Abdulaziz Al-Helaissi and Tariq Javed drew first blood for their team, winning against Matt Pelligrino and David Dew only for Banks to strike back with two points courtesy of Fahad Almansour-Graham Gunn and Richard Salisbury Derek Oherlihy.
Fahad and Gun defeated Turki Alhussain and Norhalim Mohammed Nasir while Salisbury and Oherlihy got the full point over the pair of Abdul Alothman and Leonard Dowling.
The next two matches went 1-1, as Sama Team’s David Hobbs-Kevin Hanlon brought down
Taj Rahman and Christophe J. Blanc of Banks, which retaliated in the next match behind Majed Sorour and Yasser Al-Rumayyan who won against John Kirwan and David Coffey.
Sama then won three of the four matches that followed to establish momentum and look headed for another triumph.
Sama won two more matches out of three before Banks responded by winning four of the next two matches to force the tie, 9-9.
Elated at the success of the event, Saudi Xerox Operations Manager Ihab Wahba said: "The Xerox BFI Tournament has seen another successful turnout from key
industry players under the sponsorship of Saudi Xerox. I'm highly thankful to the organizers from Dirab Golf and Country club for hosting the event for the second year and glad that now it's truly a Saudi Xerox event.”
“Special thanks for both captains from SAMA and Banking for their efforts leading to this success. We have also seen some keen interest from attendees during our latest
technology display, ” Wahba added.
Here are the complete results (Banks Team names first):
Matt Pelligrino David Dew 0 Abdulaziz Al Helaissi Tariq Javed 1, Fahad Almansour
Graham Gunn 1 Turki Alhussein Norhalim Mohamme Nasir 0, Richard Salisbury Derek Oherlihy 1 Abdul Alolthman Leonard Dowling 0, Taj Rahman Christophe J. Blanc 0 David Hobbs Kevin Hanlon 1, Majed Sorour Yasser Al Rumayyan 1 John Kirwan David Coffey 0,
Shahid Khan Mohammed Raza 0 Jack Molony Mervy Northam 1, Boiet Carigma Abner Macapagal 1 Khalid Raja Muhammed Fuad 0, Ian McDonald Alex Arellano 0 Ronny Lidman John Ryan 1, Severino Bantug Willy Tamonte 0 Michael Brennan Abdulrahman Alothman 1,
Sunil George Shujaat Nadeem 1 Saud Al-Malik Khalid Mahmood 0, Mike Dy-Liacco Vivek Hans 0 Abdulrahman Heraikati Feras Houhou 1, Benjamin Santuyo Mark Warwick 0 Shamshad Siddique Ahmed Raja 1, Kieron Franklin Lloyd Bantug 1 Sreekanth Anantharaman George Baakani 0, Irfan Hanid Jean-Pierre Pallard 1 Rami Al-Saihati Tim Douglas 0, Khalid Alothman Thomas Fallows 1 Anthony Gavin John Breen 0, Abdulaziz Al Omran Faisal Al-Youssef 0 Eddie O’Reilly Priyan Attygalle 1, Tony Castil Roehl Cruz 0 Emmon Hanlon Fahad Al-Guthami 1 Abdulhaleem Sheikh Asim Bukthiar 1 Paul Nichols Eriq Liquigan 0
Banks, Sama battle to 9-9 draw in Xerox BFI Ryder Cup 2016 Matches
Banks, Sama battle to 9-9 draw in Xerox BFI Ryder Cup 2016 Matches
Riyadh derby ends in 5-3 thriller as Al-Hilal return to winning ways
- Al-Hilal remain unbeaten after 24 games but sit third on 58 points — one behind leaders Al-Ahli
RIYADH: It was a night to forget for Ali Al-Bulayhi. Loaned to Al-Shabab this winter after nine years at Al-Hilal, his first game against his parent club turned into a nightmare.
Matchday 24 of the Saudi Pro League resumed at the SHG Arena with one of Riyadh’s most entertaining derbies — Al-Hilal vs Al-Shabab. While clashes with Al-Nassr attract greater anticipation, the history between Al-Hilal and Al-Shabab runs deep.
In the inaugural 2008/09 Saudi Pro League season, Al-Shabab held Al-Hilal to a dramatic 1-1 draw, with both sides scoring in stoppage time before chaos erupted. The result handed Al-Ittihad the edge in the title race, which they converted into the league crown. Al-Shabab later thrashed Al-Hilal in the King’s Cup semi-finals en route to lifting the trophy.
The landscape today looks very different. Al-Shabab have flirted with relegation for much of the season, while Al-Hilal, despite remaining in the title race, slipped to third after a poor run of form.
Yet form often counts for little in derby matches. Al-Shabab pushed Al-Nassr close in a 3-2 defeat in January before falling 5-2 to Al-Ahli a month later. For all their defensive frailties, the pairing of Yannick Carrasco and Abderrazzaq Hamed-allah remains dangerous.
It was no surprise, then, when Al-Shabab took the lead after 13 minutes. Al-Hilal’s defensive vulnerabilities were exposed as Carrasco and Saad Yaslam combined down the left, allowing Josh Brownhill a free strike inside the box that he drilled past Yassine Bounou.
With Malcom and Salem Al-Dawsari rested by Simone Inzaghi in favour of Saimon Bouabré and Sultan Mandash — and Karim Benzema absent — belief briefly grew that this could be Al-Shabab’s night.
The momentum shifted quickly. In the 19th minute, Al-Bulayhi misjudged a header from a long throw, and Mohammed Kanno pounced to volley home the equalizer past Marcelo Grohe.
More misfortune followed for the defender in the 31st minute. A cross from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic appeared routine for Grohe but was inadvertently turned into his own net by Al-Bulayhi.
Al-Shabab responded before the break. On the stroke of half-time, Carrasco released Hamed-allah into the same channel Brownhill had exploited, and the Moroccan forward turned past Kalidou Koulibaly before finishing to level the match.
The parallels continued. Both of Al-Shabab’s goals came from near-identical positions, while Al-Hilal’s third arrived in equally chaotic fashion. Another long throw caused havoc in first-half stoppage time, and Koulibaly redeemed his earlier error by forcing the ball home after a poor goal-line clearance from Al-Bulayhi.
From there, Al-Hilal took control. Winter signing Sultan Mandash made his mark three minutes into the second half, meeting Kanno’s cross with a superb first-time trivela finish to make it 4-2. Minutes later, he turned provider, setting up Marcos Leonardo for a composed fifth.
Still, Al-Shabab refused to fade. In the 75th minute, Yacine Adli’s driven cross evaded everyone and crept past Bounou to reduce the deficit to 5-3.
The visitors pushed for an unlikely comeback, but Al-Hilal held firm to secure victory, much to the relief of their supporters after dropping points in their previous two matches.
Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad continued their revival in a turbulent campaign with a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej. Danilo Pereira scored the decisive goal, tapping in from a Mahamadou Doumbia corner.
In Qassim, Al-Ettifaq travelled to face Al-Hazem as favourites and took an early lead through Koka. However, Abdulbasit Hindi handled on the line in the 17th minute — echoing Luis Suarez’s infamous intervention against Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup — and was sent off.
Yousef Al-Shammari converted the resulting penalty before Fabio Martins produced a stunning long-range header that could contend for the Puskas Award. Martins later assisted Aboubacar Bah for Al-Hazem’s third in a memorable victory.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Saturday with four matches kicking off at 10pm: Al-Fayha host Al-Nassr, Al-Najma face Al-Okhdood, Al-Qadsiah take on Al-Taawoun, and NEOM meet Al-Kholood.
