Ittihad opened its Zain Saudi Professional League season with a 5-3 win over visitors Al-Ta'awon at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Friday. In other encounters Al-Ittifaq edged host Al-Qadisiyah 1-0 and Al-Fateh shared four goals with visitors Najran. Ittihad's new striker Ahmed Aseeri scored the season's first goal to put his team in the lead nine minutes into the game. Mohammed Noor increased Ittihad's lead 14 minutes later. Ta'awon striker Emad Hantoul pulled one back four minutes later. Algerian striker Abdul-Malik Ziaya scored one for Ittihad to restore the margin seven minutes before the break. However, Ta'awon striker Badr Khamees managed to make it 3-2 before his Moroccan teammate Salahuddin Aqqal leveled the score in the 74th minute. Ittihad players, however, had other ideas in mind as Brazilian left-winger Wendel Geraldo put the host back in the lead three minutes later with Kuwaiti midfielder Fahd Al-Enezi putting the result beyond doubt four minutes before time. In Al-Khobar, Al-Ittifaq edged host Al-Qadisiyah 1-0. Striker Yousuf Al-Salem scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute. Despite the fact that the match featured the Eastern region's rival teams, only 920 fans attended the game. In Al-Ahsa Al-Fateh played out a 2-2 draw against visitors Najran at the Al-Fateh Club Stadium. Striker Hamdan Al-Hamdan put the host team in the lead in the 33rd minute before his Togolese teammate Doris Salumu doubled the lead in the 44th minute. Najran defender Jama'an Moftah, however, pulled one back two minutes after the break before his Algerian teammate Farid Cheklam leveled the match in the 68th minute. Saturday's actions will see Al-Nasr host Al-Ra'id at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, while new-comer Al-Ansar will host Al-Ahli at Al-Ansar Club Stadium in Al-Madina Al-Munawwarah. The other new-comer Hajr will have a tough home encounter against champion Al-Hilal at Prince Abdullah Bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium in Al-Ahsa. Al-Faisali will, meanwhile, host Al-Shabab at Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Sports City Stadium in Al
