The match between Al-Fayha and their guest Damac ended in a 1-1 draw on Saturday evening at Al-Majma’ah Sports City Stadium, as part of the sixteenth round of the Saudi Professional League this season.
Match details and key opportunities
The match was highly competitive from the outset, with Al-Fayha being the more dangerous and dominant side during the first half. The home team almost opened the scoring early, but the post intervened, denying a powerful shot from Zambian striker Fashion Sakala in the 24th minute. The response was swift, as Al-Fayha capitalized on their superiority, taking the lead in the 26th minute through a penalty expertly converted by Sakala to the right of Brazilian goalkeeper Kiwin Silva.
Despite being behind, Damac did not give up, and just four minutes before the end of the first half, they managed to equalize through their player Abdullah Al-Qahtani, who rose to a perfect cross and headed it brilliantly to the left of the Panamanian goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera in the 41st minute, ending the first half in a draw.
In the second half, the back-and-forth between the two teams continued with an exchange of attacks. Al-Fayha had a clear opportunity to regain the lead through Spaniard Jason Remeseiro, but his shot went over the crossbar in the 72nd minute. In the final moments of stoppage time, Damac almost snatched the three points, but the crossbar stood as an impenetrable barrier against Abdulrahman Al-Obaid's powerful shot, and the match ended with a draw.
The two teams' positions in the standings
With this result, Al-Fayha raised its points tally to 14, trying to improve its position in the middle of the standings, while Damac's tally reached 11 points, making it in dire need of more victories in the upcoming rounds to move away from the danger zones.
The context of the competition in the Saudi Roshan League
This match comes at a time when the Saudi Professional League is witnessing tremendous development and fierce competition, not only among the top clubs but also extending to a strong struggle in the middle and bottom of the standings. Every point is crucial given the close levels of performance between the clubs, with teams like Al-Fayha and Damac striving to secure their survival early and avoid the complex relegation scenarios at the end of the season.
This draw reflects the difficulty teams face in deciding matches, especially with the tactical and physical development witnessed in the league, which makes predicting match results difficult and enhances the market and technical value of the competition, which has become the focus of the world’s attention.
