'This is like six points' - Ighalo on huge Al Wehda win in fight for survival | OneFootball

Odion Ighalo knew the significance of the success.

Second from bottom going into Matchweek 31, his Al Wehda side were provided the perfect start in their relegation scrap with Al Fateh in Jeddah on Saturday night, courtesy of Abdulaziz Al Noor’s breakaway and finish.

Arriving only eight minutes in, it struck the initial blow of this heavyweight contest in the battle for Roshn Saudi League survival.

It proved to be the knockout. Al Wehda held on to prevail 1-0, escaping from the drop zone and vaulting to 14th in the table. With three rounds of their 2024-25 season remaining, and those around still to play in this matchweek dubbed "Your City, Your Club", the Mecca side had climbed to 32 points.

As such, Al Wehda moved to two points above Al Orobah in 16th – the Al Jouf side take on champions Al Hilal in Riyadh on Monday – but also the same number of points from 10th-placed Al Khaleej.

It goes without saying, but the fight for RSL status is tight. Without doubt, it will go down to the wire.

But, for RSL stalwart Ighalo, at least the first of four huge hurdles was overcome.

“I’m very happy,” the Nigerian said. “The most important thing is we won the game - that’s what’s very important. I’m happy we won the game because this is very important points for us.

“This is like six points for us. Because we know if we win this game, we know we have a chance stay in the league. I’m very happy and thank God we won the game.”

Al Wehda’s quest to stay up was complicated a little on Saturday by Al Kholood registering their first points in seven RSL outings. Noureddine Ben Zekri’s men took all three, in fact, with a vital win at home to Al Ettifaq.

They jump into 11th, albeit only two points above Al Wehda. However, with high-flying Al Qadsiah and Al Hilal to come, and with Al Ettifaq on the final day, the latter's victory against Al Fateh felt necessary.

“Every game for us is like final,” Ighalo said of the run-in. “Every game is very tough, so we go to the next game to fight and try to get the points.”