Saudi Gazette report
ABHA — Damak secured a point against Al-Hilal with a 1-1 draw in the seventh round of the Saudi Professional League on Thursday.
Once again, Al-Hilal delivered a modest performance, just days after their 1-1 draw in the AFC Champions League. Damak, however, managed to snatch a valuable point from the league leaders, ending their winning streak. This result left Al-Hilal with 17 points while Damak had four.
Brazilian player Malcolm of Al-Hilal opened the scoring in the 9th minute after receiving a cross from Salem Al-Dosari, which he powerfully headed into the net.
Al-Hilal didn’t perform optimally, and Damak took the initiative to test the Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who made some crucial saves during the first half.
Bounou eventually conceded a goal from a set piece taken by Romanian player Nicolae Stanciu, resulting in the equalizer.
Damak, led by Romanian coach Cosmin Contra, displayed an impressive performance, coming close to scoring multiple times were it not for the skill and brilliance of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
In Buraidah, Al-Taawoun won Al-Qassim Derby against their traditional rivals Al-Raed with a 2-1 victory, regaining their winning form after a previous loss to Al-Ahli.
Al-Taawoun wasted no time in finding the net against Al-Raed, with two early goals scored by the Brazilian Joao Pedro in the 9th minute and Walid Al-Ahmad in the 16th minute. Meanwhile, Al-Raed’s Oumar Gonzalez scored their lone goal in the 39th minute.
This victory took Al-Taawoun’s points tally to 16, while Al-Raed remained at four points, continuing their disappointing season.
In Dammam, the match between Al-Ettifaq and Al-Tai was a dramatic and high-scoring affair, with fluctuations in the game. Al-Ettifaq, under the guidance of their English coach Steven Gerrard, emerged victorious with a 4-3 scoreline.
Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum scored the fastest goal of the league in the 2nd minute, but Al-Tai equalized through Bernard Mensah in the 10th minute. Al-Tai took the lead again with another goal from Mensah, but Moussa Dembélé, the striker for Al-Ettifaq, refused to let his team trail in the first half, leveling the score once more.
Mensah completed his hat-trick to put Al-Tai ahead with a 3-2 lead, but Wijnaldum equalized again in the 72nd minute. Dembélé secured the victory for Al-Ettifaq with a goal in injury time.