There’s not a great deal goes on in Al Ula, certainly as far as sport is concerned, and so I decided to take an overnight trip to Riyadh. The attraction was the chance to see two Saudi Pro League games at grounds where I hadn’t previously watched football and which were taking place no more than a fifteen-minute taxi ride apart. Who could pass up that opportunity?
I flew in on a lunchtime flight and checked into a hotel where I was given a room without a window. If I’d been there with Jen or staying for a few nights I might have asked to move to something a bit posher, but as I only there for one night I decided that I could live with it. I slept very well in the absence of any natural light, so maybe I should specify a windowless room in future.
My hotel was within walking distance of the second game and so I took at taxi to the Kingdom Arena for the first match. It’s the venue where I watched the Tyson v Usyk fight back in May and, just like on that previous occasion, I was dropped off a long way from my entrance.
Al Hilal’s App is a nightmare to navigate. So much so that I was unable to use it to buy a ticket. Instead, I utilised the secondary market, paying one of the tout sites double the rate for a seat behind the goal that had a face value of sixteen quid.
Block 21 turned out to be the home fans section. It was free seating and as kick-off drew nearer everyone was forced to budge up and fill any empty places. Flags had been left on our seats in anticipation of a pre-match celebration of Al-Hilal’s sixty-seventh birthday.
There were a few fans from Al-Feiha behind the goal at the other end and some more sparsely populated areas along each side of the pitch.
The visitors had Chris Smalling at centre-half. Some of you, although not many I imagine, will recall that he was briefly on the Boro’s books as a teenager, before quickly having his contract cancelled due to homesickness. You’d think Saudi Arabia would be more different to adjust to than Middlesbrough was, but maybe he settles somewhere new a lot easier these days.
Smalling didn’t really look fit to me, and I’d imagine someone with a decent turn of pace would just have to run around him, although he’d no doubt be useful throwing his weight around at set pieces.
Al Hilal had most of the possession and the chances. They scored their first goal after five minutes and should really have been out of sight by half-time. Two further goals in the second half were enough to clinch the victory.
The easy win kept Al-Hilal at the top of the table and in pole position to retain their title. I skipped the post-match celebrations and legged it outside where I was able to hop into a waiting taxi and make the short journey up the road for my second game of the evening.
Tags: Chris Smalling, Kingdom Arena, Middlesbrough
Trail of the Lion King 
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