ALEXANDRIA: Ittihad striker Emad Meteb, who rediscovered his scoring touch in the 3-0 win over Ettifaq, said he s delighted to put an end to his lengthy goal drought.
The Egyptian international bagged a brace in Thursday s game to help the Dean batter their lowly opponents and go top of the Saudi League table.
Meteb was panned by Ittihad s fans for squandering many opportunities over the last two months.
I would like to dedicate this victory to ardent Ittihad supporters, who had every right to be angry at me, but not anymore I hope, he told Saudi paper Al-Balad.
I m really jubilant over the victory, and glad to see my name on the score sheet again.
On the other hand, Ittihad skipper Mohamed Noor, whose deft assists resulted in the Saudi giants three goals, revealed his optimism about Meteb s potential.
I m quite certain that he (Meteb) will notch more goals in our upcoming games, Noor commented.
Apart from the well-deserved victory, Meteb said he s is convinced that the Jeddah-based club have a big chance to claim the Saudi League title this season.
We are going to win the league title and compensate for the painful eliminations from the Prince Faisal and Crown Prince Cups, he added.
The Egypt marksman had his fair share of criticism when Ittihad were ousted by Nasr from the Crown Prince Cup semi-final, as he failed to convert a spot-kick during the penalty shoot-out.
Ittihad are only a couple of points clear at the top of the league table, while defending champions Hilal lie second with 44 points.