Winners, losers from huge round in RSL relegation battle

Al Wehda, Al Fayha and Al Fateh were the big beneficiaries across a couple of hugely important days in the Roshn Saudi League relegation battle in Matchweek 30, with the trio securing massive wins to enhance their chances of staying up.

Al Wehda, who went into the round second from bottom, came from behind to triumph 2-1 at Al Okhdood on Thursday to leapfrog their opponents in the table. Although they remain in the drop zone, at 16th, the vital victory moved the Mecca club to one point off safety.

In fact, with four full matchweeks remaining, only seven points separate Al Riyadh in ninth and Al Okhdood in 17th. As if this RSL season couldn't get any more gripping?

Al Raed, whose Matchweek 30 encounter with Al Hilal was delayed until this Wednesday because of the latter’s AFC Champions League Elite commitments, are bottom, seven points adrift of their nearest rivals.

“We knew from the beginning it would be a difficult game, [that] both teams need to win, [that] this game was like a final,” Al Wehda midfielder Youssef Amyn said. “When they scored, we needed to make many changes.

"We showed character and I’m really proud of the team and, thanks God, we won the game. This was like a six-point game… now we did a really, really important step in the right direction.”

Also on Thursday, Al Fateh recorded an upset 3-1 win at home to top-four contenders Al Shabab, carrying them two spots into 11th and closer to safety.

The hosts, playing in front of more than 11,000 fans, were 2-0 up inside the first four minutes, with Mourad Batna then adding to his two assists with a goal of his own on 16 minutes.

“It was very difficult game against a big team,” said Matias Vargas, who had set Al Fateh on their way to victory. “Mourad made an amazing game, the goalkeeper, the defenders, everybody - and the fans helping a lot for us. So, it’s a very important game to stay here [in the RSL].

“When the fans are here, when they are giving their support all the game, it’s very beautiful. It means we are doing a great job, so we’re very grateful.”

However, Jose Gomes’ side are ahead of Al Fayha only on goal difference after the Al Majma’ah outfit came through their relegation clash with Damac, winning 2-1 at home.

A third straight RSL defeat saw Damac slip to 13th, leaving them a mere two points above the relegation zone.

Speaking after what could prove to be a mammoth three points, Al Fayha striker Fashion Sakala said: “It was a very important game for us. We knew if we get these three points it would push us a bit more in the table. We really worked hard for it and I’m very proud of the team and the performance.

“We knew it would be one of the most important games for us to stay in the league. We really need to get at least two wins more for us to be very much safe - the table is very tight, other teams are very close - and we are looking forward to the next game”

Meanwhile, Al Orobah hauled themselves out of the bottom three and up a place thanks to an Omar Al Somah-inspired 4-2 win at Al Riyadh on Thursday.

The RSL legend bagged a hat-trick to extend his lead at the top of the all-time scoring charts to six. Al Somah has 154 goals in all, with Al Shabab’s Abderrazak Hamdallah second.

“To score four goals is fantastic,” said Al Orobah midfielder Johann Gudmundsson, scorer of his team’s fourth of the night.  “A lot of positives, but we can still improve in a lot of things; we will look at this game today, improve on the bad things.

“It was a really important game for us, especially after last week when we were 2-0 up and drew the game. So we needed to win today and fantastic performance from the team.”

The match was the first for new manager Antonio Carzola, who was appointed earlier this week.

“It’s been positive with the new coach,” Gudmundsson said. “He’s brought his ideas, but he’s been here a short time. But we worked on a few things we needed to do better. It worked today. It was a good win for us and a really important one.”

The round's results only deepened Al Kholood's plight. On Friday, the RSL debutants suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at Al Qadsiah to extend their run of RSL defeats to six. As such, Al Kholood slide to 14th, two points above the bottom three.