Ittihad won 3-0 over visitor Al-Ra'id in a round 19 match of the Zain Saudi Professional League at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Monday. Striker Naif Hazzazi headed strongly to put Ittihad in the lead after five minutes before another striker, Mohammed Al-Rashid, increased the lead in the 42nd minute when he took advantage of a defensive mistake by Obaid Al-Shamrani of Ra'id. In the 76th minute, Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Za'id sealed the Tigers' win from the spot after his teammate Hazzazi was brought down in the area by Mohammed Aseeri, keeper of Ra'id, who was consequently shown a red card. The result decreased the margin to six points between league leader, Hilal (45 points) and Ittihad (39). Round 20 will see a tough match for both teams when Hilal hosts Ittihad in Riyadh. The result also kept Ra'id eighth on the standings with 23 points.
