While currently excelling in their ongoing CAF Champions League campaign, Sudan's Al Hilal SC have had a drop in form in domestic league play which continued on Wednesday evening. Hilal played to a 0-0 draw against Nouakchott Kings in Mauritania's top tier Super D1 where the Sudanese club is competing along with rivals Al-Merreikh for the 2024-25 season.
Nouakchott Kings, currently top of the table, defended well and made things difficult for their star studded opponents at the Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya in Nouakchott. In a first half stalemate, each team had a close scare with Video Assistant Referee (VAR) reviews. Hilal backup goalkeeper Ali Eshrein escaped a red card when an inconclusive VAR review could not conclude whether he touched the ball with his hand outside the Hilal penalty area.
Only minutes later it was the turn of Nouakchott Kings supporters to hold their breath. Goalkeeper Abderrahmane Sarr mishandled a long ball played into his penalty area and then appeared to trip Hilal striker Yaser Mozamil as he attempted to play the ball on the end line. Sarr was given a reprieve when VAR could not conclude a foul had taken place.
The second half was more of the same until the end. As Hilal introduced some of its star players to improve their attacking efforts the match opened up but no goal was to be found. Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman, one of the substitutes brought on in the second half, was played in on goal by an excellent pass from Salaheldin Adil but the Sudan national team star could not find an opening to shoot before being denied by the scrambling Nouakchott Kings defense.
The result keeps Nouakchott Kings at the top of the table but it appears to be only temporary. FC Nouadhibou, champions of the last seven Super D1 seasons, are one point back with one less match played while Hilal are only two points back with three less matches played. Hilal return to CAF Champions League play on Sunday (19:00 GMT) when they host Tanzanian club Young Africans.
In the earlier match played on Wednesday it was Chemal FC, who handed Hilal their first defeat in five months last week, defeated ASC Toulde by a 4-1 score.
League Table (Top-3)
GP | Points | |
Nouakchott Kings | 13 | 23 |
FC Nouadhibou | 12 | 22 |
Al-Hilal Omdurman | 10 | 21 |
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