Al Fayha extend record, Al Nassr slip again and Damac bounce back

Al Fayha extend winning run in five-goal thriller

An end-to-end second half saw Al Fayha triumph 3-2 at Al Shabab and stretch their run of victories to four matches - second only to league leaders Al Hilal in terms of longest current spell of consecutive wins in the Roshn Saudi League.

A cagey opening period at Al Shabab Club Stadium threw up few chances, with Senegalese forward Habib Diallo coming closest in the final minutes of the first half. Having beaten goalkeeper Abdulraouf Al Duqayl, his curled effort rattled the crossbar.

However, just four minutes after the restart, the match sprung to life when Al Shabab defender Nader Al Sharari was penalised for a reckless challenge on Henry Onyekuru inside the area. The Nigerian forward converted from the spot to open the scoring for Al Fayha.

Onyekuru then doubled his tally in the 74th minute. A quick counter-attack led to Ghislain Konan teeing up his teammate and, with the empty net in front, he slotted home his ninth goal of the campaign.

Al Shabab pulled a one back four minutes from time, when Hussein Al Qahtani’s delivery from the corner was fumbled by Al Duqayl into his own net.

Not long after, the home crowd thought their side would walk away from the tricky encounter with at least a point after Diallo headed home from point-blank range in the final minute.

There was, though, still time for substitute Saud Zaydan to ruin the night of Al Shabab goalkeeper Mohammed Al Absi, who pre-match had collected his RSL Young Player of the Month for February.

Zaydan powered in following a well-worked move and the young goalkeeper was unable to deal with the ball, watching it nestle into his net in the eighth minute of added time for Al Fayha to seal the win.

A fourth victory on the trot means coach Vuk Rasovic’s men cross the 30-point mark, in ninth place, leaving Al Shabab stuck at 11th, with 25 points.

Damac end winless run against Al Wehda

An own goal from Abdulelah Bukhari was enough to help Damac get their first RSL victory in 2024 when they welcomed Al Wehda to Khamis Mushait on Thursday.

The southern club had been without a win since defeating Al Tai 3-0 back in December. Since then, they have lost to A Riyadh, Al Shabab and Al Ettifaq, collecting only one point in a draw against Al Fateh in Matchweek 21.

In front of their home fans, it was the combination of Nicolae Stanciu and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou that delivered the first goal of the afternoon midway through the first half.

The Romanian’s scooped pass down the left for his Cameroonian teammate allowed N’Koudou to drill a low ball across the mouth of the goal. His centre passed everyone, but an unfortunate touch from Bukhari at the far post deflected it into the back of the net.

Al Wehda’s woes were compounded 18 minutes from time when defender Jawad El Yamiq received his marching orders. A VAR check confirmed the Moroccan international had struck out at Damac’s Ahmed Al Zain away from the ball, earning a straight red card.

Damac thought they had doubled their lead in the dying embers of the match once Al Wehda goalkeeper Munir Mohammedi rushed to the other end of the pitch for a corner deep into added time, leaving his goal unattended.

Mohammedi was punished swiftly with a quick counter-attack resulting in Al Wehda defender Abdullah Al Hafith sending the ball into his own net - only for substitute Abdullah Al Qahtani to be flagged offside following a VAR review.

Cosmin Contra’s men temporarily climb to sixth place, which they will retain should Al Fateh and Al Ettifaq fail to win on Saturday.

Al Raed’s North African trio stun title-chasing Al Nassr

Al Nassr’s RSL title aspirations suffered a major blow at Al Awwal Park on Thursday as Cristiano Ronaldo and company fell to a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Al Raed, who in turn boosted their survival hopes.

Quick off the back of a 1-0 away loss to UAE’s Al Ain in the AFC Champions League, and having been held to a 4-4 draw at home in their previous RSL outing, Luis Castro’s side dropped points for the third game in a row. The result leaves them nine points adrift of leaders Al Hilal, with the latter yet to play this weekend.

Making his first RSL appearance in 14 months, goalkeeper David Ospina had a night to forget. It took 18 minutes for the Colombian to surrender his clean sheet when he rushed to close the angle on Julio Tavares, who broke free down the left and squared for Karim El Barkaoui. The Moroccan was left with the simplest of tasks to finish into the empty net for the opener.

Al Nassr responded swiftly, as Ronaldo struck Marcelo Brozovic’s cross from the right on the half-volley and, having watched his effort cannon off the crossbar, he was delighted to see it fall to Ayman Yahya, who buried the rebound for 1-1.

Less than a minute into the second half, Al Raed took the lead again through another Moroccan. This time, it was Mohammed Fouzair who got on the end of a cross from Amir Sayoud to sweep his side’s second in the Al Nassr net.

Three minutes from time, Sayoud turned from provider to scorer. The Algerian was perfectly positioned to control Khalid Al Subaie’s low corner and dispatch a finish to seal a first victory in four games for the visitors.

Al Raed move five points clear of the drop zone, pending the remaining Matchweek 23 fixtures.