Al Riyadh stun Al Qadsiah, narrow wins for Al Khaleej and Damac | OneFootball

Coach Georgios Donis’ Al Khaleej picked up their first win since the opening Roshn Saudi League weekend as they overcame Al Kholood 1-0 thanks to Abdullah Al Salem’s 66th minute strike in Dammam.

Hosting the early kick-off on Friday, Al Khaleej had collected just one point from their last four matches but bounced back after a solid display at home.

The home crowd thought their team had taken the league in the 25th minute when Konstantinos Fortounis’ outswinging corner was headed by Khaled Narey but the Togolese forward was denied by a flying save from Marcelo Grohe.

The two players swapped roles, with Narey crossing from the right late in the first half and Fortounis hitting it on the half-volley from outside the box, only to be denied by another spectacular Grohe save.

There wasn’t much the former Al Ittihad goalkeeper could do when, in the 66th minute, Al Khaleej captain Fabio Martins intelligently found the overlapping Pedro Rebocho and the left back drilled a low cross that was duly swept home by Al Salem for the winner.

Martins thought he had doubled his side’s lead minutes later when he cut inside and drilled from close range into the back of the net, but his goal was ruled out with Narey being flagged offside in the build-up.

The win takes Al Khaleej past their opponents and out of the drop zone with a tough encounter against Al Ahli up next, while Al Kholood freeze at four points in 16th place and take on current bottom side Al Fateh after the international break.

Al Riyadh v Al Qadsiah

Iraqi winger Ibrahim Bayesh continued his impressive start to the season as his Al Riyadh side stunned Al Qadsiah 2-1 at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City on Friday evening.

The capital club had narrowly escaped relegation last season, winning just eight games all campaign, but are already on three wins from their opening six matches this time around thanks to a complete overhaul in the summer.

Al Qadsiah arrived to Riyadh buoyed by their success in the previous match when they downed Al Ahli 1-0 thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty, but despite a bright start, found themselves behind in the 24th minute.

Central midfielder Lucas Kal, a summer arrival from Brazilian side Atletico Goianiense got his side up and running after being set-up by playmaker Toze to drill a shot from the edge of the area, marking his second strike of the campaign. It was only the second goal Al Qadsiah keeper Koen Casteels conceded this season.

Al Riyadh doubled their advantage just before the hour mark. Once more it was Toze’s creativity behind the goal as the former Al Hazem man delivered a corner that was met by a towering header from defender Yoan Barbet. The Frenchman’s attempt was pushed over the line by a simple Bayesh tap-in from point blank to make it 2-0.

The visitors looked to stage a late comeback, but Abdulaziz Al Othman’s finish after a fine through ball from Turki Al Ammar in the 78th minute proved too little too late, and the home team walked away with valuable three points.

The result means coach Sabri Lamouchi’s men caught up with their Friday opponents at ten points to break into the top six.

Damac v Al Shabab

Georges-Kevin N’Koudou’s third goal of the RSL season helped Damac return to winning ways after they defeated Al Shabab 1-0 in the last of Friday’s three games.

Senegal international forward Habib Diallo had a golden opportunity to score against his former club when he broke free and rounded goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, but he was denied by a heroic block from defender Nader Al Sharari.

Kim displayed his best qualities as he denied Nicolae Stanciu on multiple occasions to see out the first half with a clean sheet.

For all his excellence in the first half, the Korea Republic international keeper was left red-faced when he allowed N’Koudou’s tame shot through his hands after the Cameroonian exchanged passes with Diallo and tried his luck from inside the box through a forest of legs.

The near-capacity crowd at Damac Club Stadium thought their club had been pegged back when Cristian Guanca curled a free-kick from 20 yards over the wall and towards the top corner, but to the relief of the Khamis Mushait fans, the ball ended up on the outside of the netting.

Damac’s second win of the season provides a breathing space for coach Cosmin Contra before the international break, while Al Shabab miss out on the chance of going level on points with leaders Al Hilal and runners-up Al Ittihad; they stay third with 12 points.