Ronaldo's Al Nassr make it four wins in a row, Tawamba double downs Al Hazem

Tawamba at the double as Al Okhdood seal a huge win over Al Hazem

Leandre Tawamba bagged a brace as Slovakian coach Martin Sevela marked his first game in charge of Al Okhdood with an important 2-1 win over relegation rivals Al Hazem in their first-ever meeting in the Roshn Saudi League,

The home team started confidently and opened the scoring with 20 minutes on the clock. A raking long-range pass found defender Hamad Al Mansour, who produced a perfect cross which found the head of Tawamba; his effort was then painfully fumbled into the net by Al Hazem keeper Ibrahim Zaid.

Cameroonian Tawamba was the danger man for Al Okhdood, and should have done much better when strike partner Saviour Godwin late in the first half picked him out. His tame strike trickled well wide. The hosts were reduced to ten men when Al defender Al Mansour picked up a straight red card just after the hour mark leaving them with a mountain to climb to seal the points.

Despite the numerical disadvantage of Al Okhdood, it was veteran attacker Tawamba who supplied a moment of magic in the 91st minute of the contest. A long pass from Florin Tanase found the number nine and a right-footed strike from distance flew over the head keeper Zaid who was well out of his goal. A late Tozé consolation was not enough for Al Hazem, as Al Okhdood registered just their third victory of the RSL season.

Al Fayha and Al Ettifaq share the spoils

Al Fayha and Al Ettifaq played out an uninspiring 0-0 draw on Saturday evening.

In a game that lacked a clinical edge it was Al Fayha who created the best chance of the first half when Zambian Fashion Sakala showed a good turn of pace, only to smash a shot just past the back post. Al Ettifaq lacked much going forward in the contest and were reduced to long shots in the first half with Georginio Wijnaldum missing both chances.

The home side upped the ante in the second half and should have been ahead if not for the woodwork. Sakala did everything he could including round keeper Paulo Victor but his shot cracked off the post. Whilst in the 83rd minute Anthony Nwakaeme came the closest to breaking the deadlock as a corner fell to the Nigerian with the goal at his mercy, painfully his left footed volley pinged off the cross bar.

The result does little for the fortunes of either team with a draw meaning that Al Fayha stay in eighth place whilst Al Ettifaq stay in seventh, two points ahead of the team from Al Majmaah.

Ronaldo on the spot again as Al Nassr make it four straight RSL wins

Al Nassr went into the international break just four points behind league leaders Al Hilal with a 3-1 win away at Al Wehda. A stunning free-kick from Alex Telles set the tone for the side from Riyadh before Cristiano Ronaldo put the contest beyond any doubt with his 13th goal of the season.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring in the 11th minute through some quick thinking from Telles. With team-mates Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca standing over a free-kick it was the defender who quickly took the set piece arching his shot into the bottom corner leaving Al Wehda keeper Munir Mohamedi rooted to the spot.

Mohamedi was drawn into action soon after producing a good save to deny Sadio Mane’s header from close range. Al Nassr were backed by a vocal away support at the King Abdulaziz Sport City and continued to turn the screw before deservedly going 2-0 up just before the interval. A quick corner was laid to Marcelo Brozovic; his cross to the back post was met with a towering header from central defender Abdulelah Al Amri that clipped the post before crossing the line.

Al Wehda continued to play their patient passing game but a string of errors that led to Al Nassr’s third goal of the evening will leave head coach Georgios Donis frustrated. A botched clearance from Costa Rican Oscar Duarte fell to Waleed Bakshween who misjudged his header that was meant for keeper Mohamedi. Ronaldo stole in to poke home for his 13th goal in 12 RSL starts this season.

Brazilian playmaker Anselmo came up with a consolation header on the 81st minute for the hosts, but the contest was all but over as Al Nassr racked up a sixth consecutive victory in the RSL.