The Future Falcons held Panathinaikos to a goalless draw in the opening match of the fourth edition of Al Abtal Cup, in which both teams participated in Group D of the tournament.
Panathinaikos started the match strongly, threatening the Future Falcons’ goal in the seventh minute with a powerful shot from winger Romano, but it hit the crossbar. As time passed, the Saudi team entered the game and approached Constantinos’ goal on several occasions. Muath Al-Habib also appealed for a penalty in the 24th minute after cleverly stealing the ball from defender Lennardakis, who had pulled the Saudi striker inside the penalty area in an attempt to rectify his mistake. However, the referee didn’t make any calls.
The Future Falcons once again demanded a penalty in the 30th minute after Salman Al-Matar was fouled by the goalkeeper while being one-on-one, but the referee remained silent. The attempts of both teams continued without success, ending the first half in a goalless draw.
The second half started evenly as both teams sought to break the deadlock, but the battle was fiercer in the midfield. Panathinaikos came close to scoring the first goal with a shot from Mvoukou from outside the penalty area, but his shot hit the crossbar again in the 79th minute. Thus, the opening match of the fourth edition of Al Abtal Cup concluded in a goalless draw.
