AlQadsiah

RIYADH: The final matchday in the opening stretch of the Saudi Pro League season before the international break kicked off in dramatic fashion with Al-Qadsiah and visiting Al-Ettifaq meeting in what is expected to be the last Eastern Derby at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam, as Al-Qadsiah’s new Aramco Stadium is set to open in the near future.

It turned out to be a fitting farewell derby for the stadium to host, with three goals in each half as the teams shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw.

Yet, when Al-Qadsiah took a 2-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes, few would have expected anything other than a comfortable home victory was in the cards. Recent Ballon d’Or nominee Julian Quinones returned to scoring form in the 12th minute, after latching onto a pass from right wing-back Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, who now has six goal contributions in seven games.

Left wing-back Christopher Bonsu Baah also claimed an assist, three minutes later, after getting on the end of a line-breaking Quinones diagonal run. Mateo Retegui positioned himself inside the box to receive Baah’s pass and launched a powerful finish into the top corner to double the lead.

Al-Ettifaq responded 11 minutes later, immediately after the hydration break, when Abdoulaye Kante won possession in Al-Qadsiah’s midfield and threaded a pass through the gap behind the pressing Nacho to release Bersant Celina, who finished calmly past Koen Casteels to pull one back.

That vulnerability in behind was an ongoing problem for Al-Qadsiah, who were without the rested Julian Weigl in the defensive midfield. He was replaced by the returning Nahitan Nandez, who operated in a higher midfield role while Tijjani Reijnders, who scored a brace from that position against Al-Ahli last week, was shifted to the deepest role.

That gamble did not pay off for head coach Brendan Rodgers, whose side paid the price when opposite number Arthur Papas made a few bold calls of his own. The trio of Moussa Dembele, Alvaro Medran and Jordan Larsson started on the bench for Al-Ettifaq and were introduced at staggered intervals in the second half as their team’s grip on the game gradually tightened.

Just over an hour in, with the fans perhaps wondering why Medran had not been selected to start, Papas’ decision-making was vindicated when the Spaniard received the ball ahead of Al-Qadsiah’s midfield, turned and unleashed a wonderful curler from range that Casteels had no chance of keeping out, making it 2-2.

Al-Qadsiah’s own substitutions yielded their third goal in the 81st minute when Turki Al-Ammar slipped the ball to Mohammed Al-Qahtani in behind the Al-Ettifaq defense for his first goal of the season.

But that trio who began the match on the bench had the last laugh when, in the 85th minute, Dembele won possession in Al-Qadsiah’s half, his pass found Medran, who played a first-time through ball to the oncoming Larsson, who composed himself before slotting the ball past Casteels for the equalizer.

The draw moved Al-Qadsiah into second place in the table, at least temporarily, on 16 points, one ahead of Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, both of whom play on Saturday. Al-Ettifaq are in eighth place on 11 points.

Al-Ittihad cruised to a 3-1 away victory against Al-Faisaly, with Steven Bergwijn opening the scoring in the 28th minute, before a brace from Youssef En-Nesyri either side of halftime confirmed the victory. The in-form George Ilenikhena did not score but provided two assists for his strike partner as Al-Ittihad moved top of the table on 17 points from seven games. Theo Bongonda grabbed the late consolation for Al-Faisaly, who remain stuck second-bottom of the table on three points and yet to record a win this season.

In Jeddah, Al-Ahli came from behind after conceding the fastest goal in their SPL history when Ahmed Al-Nakhli struck for visiting Al-Hazem after just 74 seconds. But Francisco Trincao grabbed the equalizer in the 21st minute and then Ivan Toney added a first-half brace to take his tally to 10 goals in seven league games and give the home side a 3-1 victory. Al-Ahli moved into fifth place on 12 points, while Al-Hazem are in 10th on eight points.

On Saturday, Al-Hilal look to bounce back from their 2-0 home defeat by Neom on Monday when they visit Al-Taawoun; Al-Khaleej host Al-Nassr; and Al-Shabab are at home to Al-Fayha.

RIYADH: With a FIFA Intercontinental Cup clash against Mamelodi Sundowns looming on Sept. 19, Al-Ahli fans have been plunged further into an alarming state of concern.

Just seven days after losing 3-0 to Al-Hilal in their first top-six clash of the season, on Tuesday night Marino Pusic’s side once again conceded three goals, this time to Brendan Rodgers’ Al-Qadsiah.

Al-Ahli have now lost three of their last four games, but even during the four-game winning streak (in all competitions) with which they began the season, many had started to feel the writing was on the wall; Pusic inherited the team late in the preseason and brought with him a football philosophy that often looks like a complete departure from that of outgoing manager Matthias Jaissle.

The 3-2 scoreline away to Al-Qadsiah might not look too worrying on paper but it was the nature of the defeat that will give Al-Ahli much to think about. They were simply outclassed by their opponents in the first 45 minutes, before Ivan Toney led a second-half rally that reduced the deficit but in the end was not enough to rescue a point.

Al-Ahli started the game with only one holding midfielder, Valentin Atangana, allowing Al-Qadsiah’s midfield trio of Julian Weigl, Tijjani Reijnders and Musab Al-Juwayr to overload the center of the pitch on several occasions, leaving the home side with a free player in the final third a number of times.

Such a situation was what led to Al-Qadsiah’s first goal when, in the 14th minute, Reijnders found himself in between Eduard Spertsyan and Galeno in the right half-space. The Dutch international only needed a few touches toward goal before he unleashed a belter of a shot toward the far corner, beating Edouard Mendy.

As Al-Qadsiah’s midfield trio continued to control the game, the wing-backs, Christopher Bonsu Baah and Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, became the main beneficiaries of Al-Ahli’s narrow defensive focus. As the game entered added time at the end of the first half, Al-Juwayr released Bonsu Baah down the left and he delivered a low cross into the box that found Abu Al-Shamat, who was unmarked inside the Al-Ahli box and finished cleanly to extend the lead.

A third followed two minutes later, with that Al-Juwayr-to-Bonsu Baah connection once again tormenting Al-Ahli. This time they switched the ball to the right flank, where Abu Al-Shamat received the ball and delivered a dipping cross towards Reijnders, who headed home to complete his brace. Al-Ahli mixed things up with a number of substitutions in the second half, including the introduction of Saleh Abu Al-Shamat for Galeno.

And it was Saleh, facing off against his brother Mohammed on the left flank, who injected a renewed spirit into Al-Ahli’s attack with his movement. This ultimately led to Al-Ahli’s revival of sorts in the second half, spearheaded by the league’s top scorer, Toney.

In the 63rd minute, he got on the end of a diagonal cross from Francisco Trincao to finally beat goalkeeper Koen Casteels — who had made four saves up to that point — with a header.

Toney scored again in the 82nd minute, this time latching onto a through ball from Abu Al-Shamat before cutting inside and curling his effort beyond Casteels. The humidity in Dammam clearly had an effect on Al-Qadsiah, who by now had shifted their high-pressing 3-4-1-2 formation into a compact 5-3-2.

This was ultimately enough to hold off Toney and his teammates, and claim a fifth victory from their first six games, their best-ever start to a Saudi Pro League season. In Jeddah, Al-Ittihad followed up on their 2-1 home win against Al-Nassr on Saturday with an identical result, this time against visiting Al-Fayha.

Continuing his fine run of form, George Ilenikhena opened the scoring in the 43rd minute when he headed home the rebound from a Steven Bergwijn shot after it twice struck the crossbar. It was canceled out by Jason just before the half-time whistle, who redirected an Ahmed Bamasud cross with a deft backheel.

Al-Ittihad claimed the victory after Jason handled the ball inside the area in the 68th minute, prompting the referee to award a penalty following a review by the video assistant referee. Substitute Youssef En-Nesyri slotted the ball into the right corner.

Elsewhere, Al-Ettifaq were held to a goalless home draw by Al-Faisaly in what was an underwhelming evening for Arthur Papas’ side, while visiting Al-Taawoun were beaten 1-0 by Al-Hazem, after a mistake by goalkeeper Mailson gifted Aboubacar Bah an open goal in the third minute.

On Wednesday, Al-Kholood host Al-Shabab at 6:55 p.m., then Al-Fateh face visiting Diriyah and Al-Nassr are at home to Abha, with both matches kicking off at 9 p.m.