Krychowiak double seals crucial Abha triumph, Gray grabs late winner for Al Riyadh

Krychowiak brace hands Abha vital victory over Al Tai

Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak scored either side of half-time as Abha picked up a crucial three points at home to relegation rivals Al Tai.

It was the visitors who created the first chance of note with the game only five minutes old. Defender Hassan Al Omari curled a dangerous free-kick to the back post that evaded everyone apart from Jamal Bajandouh. Unfortunately for Al Tai, the midfielder couldn't get his footing right and his effort flew high over the crossbar.

Abha grew into the contest, with former Poland international Krychowiak crafting his first chance in the 11th minute. Hassan Al Ali drilled a pass to Uros Matic, who poked the ball into his teammate. However, the first-time strike from Krychowiak was gratefully gathered by Al Tai goalkeeper Victor Braga.

Eventually the pressure from the home side began to tell, though, and they finally made the breakthrough in the 38th minute thanks in no small part to the hard work of Meshal Al Mutairi.

The Saudi Arabian attacker sprinted down the right wing and cut the ball to Krychowiak, who was waiting on the penalty spot. A wave of the right boot from the former Al Shabab man edged Abha ahead.

Krychowiak and Abha could have easily gone into the break 2-0 up if not for the quick thinking of Braga. Al Tai tried to patiently play the ball out from the back, and an errant pass from the Brazilian fell to Krychowiak. Without hesitation, Braga charged off his line to smother the shot and keep his side in the contest.

Yet minutes after the restart, Abha and Krychowiak had their second. Picking the ball up deep in his own half, Al Ali burst forward to outpace the Al Tai backline. Just as he entered the penalty area, he intuitively passed the ball to his midfield partner, who side-footed home.

Al Tai tried in vain to get back into the game but were met with stiff resistance from the Abha backline. The victory could prove pivotal for Pitso Mosimane’s men, now level with Al Tai on 18 points and a further two points away from Al Raed, who are just outside the relegation zone, on 20 points.

Gray grabs winner as Al Riyadh secure crucial win at Al Okhdood

Paulo Vitor was made to rue two goalkeeping errors as Andre Gray sealed the points for Al Riyadh three minutes from time to hand his side an important 2-1 win at Al Okhdood on Friday night.

It didn't take long for the game to spring into life at Prince Hathloul Sports City, with Al Okhdood forward Saviour Godwin bringing out a good save from rival goalkeeper Martin Campana. The rebound fell to the Nigerian, but his header was cleared off the line by defender Hussain Al Nowaiqi.

The hosts continued to press forward and crafted a perfect chance through the acrobatics of Leandre Tawamba. Andrei Burca provided a dangerous cross into the penalty area, which was flicked on by defensive partner Solomon Kvirkvelia. Tawamba quickly attempted an overhead kick, but it flew well wide - much to the frustration of the Cameroonian striker.

With the first half coming to a close, Al Riyadh crafted a few chances of their own. First, a quick corner played to Knowledge Musona saw the Zimbabwean whip in a ferocious ball towards goal, but Vitor did enough to claim it. Moments later, the Al Okhdood goalkeeper was again called into action to halt a driven effort from midfielder Abdulelah Al Khaibari.

Then, in first-half injury-time, Vitor had a decisive hand in giving Al Riyadh the lead. Abdulhadi Al Harajin raced to the byline and drilled a cross into the box, which was promptly pushed away by Vitor. However, with Vitor stricken on the turf, Musona was on hand to angle his header into the ground and into the back of the net.

Al Okhdood pushed for an equaliser in the second half, and in the 69th minute spurned a second acrobatic effort of the evening. Substitute Saleh Al Harthi lofted a ball into the Al Riyadh area, but Ahmed Mostafa’s attempted bicycle-kick squirmed wide.

Just four minutes later, the hosts found themselves level. A deep corner was cleared by the Al Riyadh defence, and fell at the feet of Godwin, who took a touch before unleashing a blistering right-footed effort into the back of the net. It marked the Nigerian forward’s fourth goal of the RSL campaign.

The final 15 minutes started to swing in favour of the visitors. Musona was beginning to show his influence and slid a shot inches past the post in the 76th minute. The Zimbabwean was at the heart of Al Riyadh’s attacking play, and once more came close from a curling set-piece, which was turned onto the crossbar by Vitor.

Eventually, Al Riyadh’s hard work was rewarded, although not for the first time, Vitor had a major say in proceedings.

Musona delivered a cross that the Al Okhdood stopper failed to collect, leaving Gray to react quickest and tap the ball into an unguarded net to secure all three points. It took the Jamaican's tally to five goals in his debut RSL campaign.

The win means Al Riyadh are five points clear of the relegation zone, and level with Al Okhdood, on 23 points.