Al Qadsiah leave it late to edge out Al Khaleej | OneFootball

An evenly-contested clash between Eastern Province rivals Al Qadsiah and Al Khaleej proved to be just that, only to be decided by a late, late winner at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam.

The two sides went into the Roshn Saudi League matchweek 12 encounter with little to separate them; both were on a four-match winning run and occupied fifth and sixth place respectively, both even scored the same amount of goals going into the match, with 15 each. A win for Al Khaleej would have meant equalling their rivals’ tally of 22 points and eclipsing them in the table.

Al Qadsiah thought they had taken an early lead when, just seven minutes in, young right back Mohammed Abu Al Shamat delivered an exceptional diagonal ball for Turki Al Ammar who was dispossessed by Marcel Tisserand who instantly gave it away for Julian Quinones. The Mexican duly punished the Al Khaleej defence, but his joy was cut short by the raised flag against Al Ammar.

The side from Al Khobar could have been ahead early in the second half was it not for a combination of the upright and some terrific goalkeeping from Al Khaleej’s Ibrahim Sehic. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dribbled expertly and drilled an effort that bounced off the woodwork into the path of Quinones whose tame follow up looked set to creep past the goal-line only for the Bosnian international keeper to recover and tip it away.

It took a while, but the stalemate was finally broken in the fifth minute of added time. A Cameron Puertas corner was headed home by Abdulaziz Al Othman. The 20-year-old’s third goal of the season extended Al Qadsiah’s winning run to five matches, while ending Al Khaleej’s own streak at four.

Temporarily up to fourth place ahead of Al Shabab’s clash with city rivals Al Hilal, Al Qadsiah are now firmly in contention for continental football, while Al Khaleej’s seventh place is still on par with their best-ever RSL finish.