Nasr jumped into the second spot of the Zain Saudi Professional League after securing a 2-1 win over visitors Al-Ahli in a round-nine match at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium Saturday. Striker Rayyan Bilal put Nasr in the lead after 11 minutes. His Romanian teammate midfielder Petre Ovidiu doubled the lead in the 70th minute. Al-Ahli striker Hasan Al-Rahib, however, managed to reduce the margin three minutes from time. The fans present in the stadium hardly had anything to cheer in the first half other than Bilal's goal. Nasr midfielder Abdurrahman Al-Qahtani shot a cross into the area, where Bilal netted the ball with a perfect header. Both the sides seemed refreshed after the break. Ahli defenders, however, paid the price of not clearing the ball neatly, when Ovidiu kicked the ball into Ahli's goal on defender Jufain Al-Bishi's gaffe. The only goal for visiting team came when Al-Rahib directed a corner kick towards the goal. It first hit Nasr defender Ahmed Al-Doukhi before ending up in the Nasr goal. French referee Herve Piccirillo gave Ahli substitute Abdurraheem Al-Jaizawi his marching orders in the 93rd minute when the midfielder protested against Nasr goalkeeper's tactics of wasting time. The win moved Nasr in the second spot on 16 points. Ahli ended the day in the 12th spot on seven points. In another match, Al-Ittifaq routed its host Al-Ra'id 3-0 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium. Striker Yousuf Al-Salem put Al-Ittifaq in the lead two minutes after the break and striker Saleh Basheer doubled the score in the 61st minute. Al-Salem then sealed Ittifaq win six minutes later with his second goal of the night. Al-Ittifaq is third on the standings with 16 points, with a one-goal difference holding it behind Nasr. Ra'id remains fifth on 12 points. At Al-Hazm Club Stadium, Al-Ta'awon also thrashed its 10-man host Al-Hazm 3-0. Striker Mohammed Al-Rashid put Ta'awon in the lead in the seventh minute. He doubled the lead two minutes before the break. In the 73rd minute, Macedonian striker Mansour Kurtisi sealed the win for Ta'awon. Hazm defender Hamad Al-Eissa received a second yellow card to be sinbinned. The win pushed Ta'awon up to the seventh spot on 11 points, while Hazm remains in the bottom with its three points. Elsewhere, a late goal by Senegalese defender Albaye Papa Diop gave Al-Faisali a 1-0 won over host Al-Fateh. The three points pulled Faisali up to the sixth place with 12 points; a single-goal difference behind Ra'id. Fateh remained 13th on five points.
