Quinones scores and assists as Al Qadsiah turn tables on Al Nassr

Al Qadsiah came from behind to hand Al Nassr their first defeat of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League season and draw level on points with them in the league table.

In front of 18,471 fans at Al Awwal Park, the home team nearly took the lead inside 53 seconds when Otavio intercepted the ball inside the Al Qadsiah half and fed Cristiano Ronaldo inside the box. The club captain looked to drill one in with his left but was denied by an exceptional save from the feet of Belgian goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

The visitors responded in kind as Cameron Puertas fired one with his left from just outside the area, his effort took a deflection off Marcelo Brozovic and it needed some flexibility from goalkeeper Bento to tip it away.

Otavio continued to be the beating heart of Al Nassr’s midfield and once more provided an exquisite pass behind the defence, this time the recipient was right winger Angelo who aimed for the bottom far corner but his shot passed just wide.

The home crowd had already started celebrating when Sadio Mane dribbled past two defenders and sent a drilled ball across the goalmouth for Abdulrahman Ghareeb who had the goal at his mercy from three yards, but inexplicably miscued his finish, sending the ball over the crossbar.

Despite leading the RSL goalkeepers in clean sheets with six going into the match, Al Qadsiah’s Casteels was left red-faced when he failed to deal with Angelo’s cross from the right, spilling the ball into the path of Ronaldo who made no mistakes to sweep home his seventh goal of the campaign to open Al Nassr’s account on the night in the 32^nd minute.

It took just five minutes for the away side to restore parity. Some nifty footwork by Turki Al Ammar down the left was followed by a pinpoint cross that was expertly chested down by Julian Quinones who then fired on the half-volley into the back of the net for 1-1.

Buoyed by his fifth goal in nine RSL appearances, the Mexican forward picked up where he left off for the second half. Quinones showed his quality to meet Nahitan Nandez’s diagonal ball with a first-time cross at the far post where Piere-Emerick Aubameyang awaited with a diving header into the empty net to seal the victory for Al Qadsiah.

Coach Michel’s men could have further extended their lead at the hour-mark when Puertas set-up Aubameyang with a lovely back-heel pass, but the Gabon international’s strike was saved by Bento.

At the other end of the pitch, Casteels recovered from his uncharacteristic mistake to deny Angelo and Ronaldo, the latter’s left-footed shot came at the very last minute of nine minutes of added time. The Belgian’s save signalling a first league defeat for coach Stefano Pioli, leaving Al Hilal as the only unbeaten team in the competition ahead of their clash with Al Khaleej.

The result adds fuel to the already burning fire at the top end of the RSL table. Al Qadsiah now join Al Nassr on 22 points, with Al Shabab in fourth place separating them on goal-difference. Al Qadsiah are now on a four-match winning streak, their longest in the Pro League era.