Football’s most surprising new rivalry: Why are fans of Saudi club Al Hilal hitting out at Welsh champions TNS online?
- The New Saints (TNS) suffered a 2-1 defeat in the Scottish Challenge Cup final
- Fans of Saudi Al Hilal quickly ridiculed the Welsh club on social media
- England’s 2004 European Championship team were great on paper, but they didn’t win. Can this crop do it this summer? Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
A Welsh side losing in the Scottish Challenge Cup final has been mocked on social media by fans of a Saudi Arabian club.
The New Saints (TNS) lost 2-1 to Scottish Airdrieonians in the final of the competition on Sunday.
Fans of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal – who have the likes of Neymar in their squad – heralded victory for Scotland’s second tier, due to a bizarre rivalry with TNS.
Their feud centered around a dispute over the Guinness World Record for most consecutive wins.
The Welsh team claimed a record-equalling run with their 27th on the spin against Newtown, but were later told the side will not officially qualify since their fourth round tie with East Fife was settled on penalties in October.
Al Hilal fans have mocked Wales’ TNS for their loss in the Scottish Challenge Cup final
Al Hilal fans responded to TNS’ full-time tweet to mock them for their loss in a rivalry centered around the Guinness World Record for most consecutive wins
Al Hilal then took the record in legitimate fashion with their 28th consecutive win against Al-Ittihad earlier this month, and have since extended this to 29.
Fans of the Saudi club were quick to ridicule TNS after the Welsh side suffered their first defeat since August 1, when they exited the Europa Conference League in Luxembourg. A win would also have made it 34 on the spin (including penalties).
A large number of Al Hilal supporters stormed TNS’s social media post during the full-time whistle with laughing emojis.
One fan said: ‘You’re not going to be Al Hilal’, while another wrote: ‘Try again…the pursuit of Al Hilal is very difficult’.
Another supporter said Al Hilal “was always first” and told TNS to “stay away from the big world.”
While another posted an image of Al Hilal holding the record for the longest winning streak in football.
Al Hilal dominated the Saudi Pro League this season with a team consisting of Neymar, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The last time they failed to win a match was in a 1-1 draw against Navbahor in the AFC Champions League on September 18, with their last defeat coming a month earlier against Al-Nassr in the Arab Club Champions Cup .
Al Hilal took the record for most consecutive wins this month in their victory over Al-Ittihad
They have a twelve-point lead over Al-Nassr, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s team likely to miss out on the league title.
TSN have sealed the Welsh Championship with a record of 26 wins and 2 draws – 26 points ahead of their nearest rivals.
Their participation in the Scottish Challenge Cup is due to two host teams from the Cymru Premier League being allowed to participate in the competition.