Damac: The RSL giant-killers affecting title race

If you were a Damac fan, you might be wondering how your side is lurking just above the Roshn Saudi League relegation zone given the results they have celebrated in recent times.

At the end of January, the club from Khamis Mushait stunned league leaders Al Ittihad with a 94th-minute winner to snatch an improbable 2-1 win.

Not even two weeks later, they were leading 2-1 against Al Hilal with only 15 minutes to play, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. But still, they had managed to take valuable points off the defending champions.

And then last weekend, Damac left it even later than they did against Al Ittihad, scoring from the spot in the 11th minute of stoppage-time to triumph 1-0 against an Al Qadsiah that were third coming into the match.

It’s a run of results that would have you believe Nuno Almeida’s side are challenging at the top of the RSL. But the reality is something completely different. Those seven points have helped greatly, because that is the margin between Damac and the relegation zone.

Sandwiched in between those headline results, however, are losses to Al Orobah, Al Taawoun and Al Shabab, and dropped points against Al Khaleej and Al Okhdood.

The inconsistency is sure to be maddening for Almeida and his staff, trying to work out how they can be so good against the best teams - or at least take results against them - but struggle to do so against the rest. Those wins against Al Ittihad and Al Qadsiah are their only victories in the past two months.

It’s a situation that even perplexes those inside the club, with goalkeeper Florin Nita bewildered by their role as giant-killers when speaking after the success against Al Qadsiah.

“I don’t understand this situation,” he said. “Because every time we play against a strong team, we have a good result. But when we play against a smaller team, we don’t have success.

“Fortunately we took the three points, and this is important for us and for the morale [of the team].”

While Damac aren’t challenging for silverware themselves, the results they have picked up mean they will have, and have had, a material impact on this season’s title race.

The defeat for Al Qadsiah is particularly damaging. A win would have kept them in third spot and within seven points of Al Ittihad at the summit, and within three points of Al Hilal in second.

As it is now, they have dropped to fourth behind Al Nassr, albeit on goal difference. And, were it not for Al Ahli inexplicably dropping all three points against Al Okhdood, the loss would’ve relegated Al Qadsiah to fifth.

Hence, they’re now 10 points behind Al Ittihad and face the steepest of uphill battles to haul themselves back into contention for the title this season.

For Damac, what is notable about all three of the results against Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Qadsiah is that all were secured at home.

As one of the southernmost clubs in the league - only Al Okhdood are further south - it’s proof that a trip to Khamis Mushait is never easy - even for the league’s best sides.

The city's elevation, sitting atop the Sarawat Mountain range at 2,000 metres, gives Damac an important advantage as visitors often struggle physically. What they need to do now is something they’ve failed to do all season: back up one of these giant-killing victories with another three points.

The last time Damac secured back-to-back wins came way back in November, against Al Kholood and Al Wehda - two sides they face in the next three matchdays. And given his 11 goals and three assists this season, getting Georges-Kevin N’Koudou back to fitness would be a significant help.

The Cameroon international has been one of the standout forwards in the league across the past two campaign, evidenced by 15 goals on debut last season.

However, unfortunately for Damac, the 30-year-old former Besiktas attacker has been sidelined since February when he went off injured against Al Okhdood. His return, therefore, can’t come soon enough as his team look to keep a relegation battle at bay.

On the surface, the upcoming matches against Al Riyadh, Al Wehda and Al Kholood are all winnable, but they are also the type of game they have dropped so far this season.

Looking further ahead, Al Nassr become the latest big-name team to head to Khamis Mushait later in April as they fight to keep their faint title hopes alive.

Having already played an unexpectedly conspicuous role in the title race so far, can Damac do so again when Cristiano Ronaldo and Co come to town?