JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Okhdood on Sunday and while the leaders moved six points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League, it was a frustrating evening in Jeddah.
Deep into injury time and just seconds away from the final whistle, the Tigers were leading and ready to go eight points above Al-Hilal but a late equalizer means there is plenty of life left in the title race yet.
It also means that Okhdood are just two points off safety at the bottom of the table.
At half-time, Al-Ittihad were looking good to take full advantage of Al-Hilal’s loss against Al-Ahli on Friday. Karim Benzema and Moussa Diaby have been in fine attacking form this season and came close to breaking the deadlock in the opening half hour.
It came, however, six minutes before the break. Houssem Aouar grabbed his 10th goal of the season to put the Jeddah giants ahead. It was a special strike.
The Algerian received a pass from Hassan Kadesh on the left corner of the penalty box, spun to lose his marker, and then danced into the area to fire a low shot into the opposite corner.
In the second half, it seemed to be only a matter of time before Laurent Blanc’s men extended their lead and sealed a crucial win. Soon after the restart, Benzema hit the post as the French forward looked for his 17th league goal of the season.
More chances came, for the former Real Madrid star as well as his teammates, but none were converted. It all meant that Al-Ittihad were left to regret their wastefulness in the 97th minute.
The league leaders failed to clear a corner from the left and the ball fell to Christian Bassogog at the edge of the area and the Cameroonian left fly with a fierce shot that flew into the top corner.
The home crowd were stunned into silence while, in Riyadh, there was suddenly a little hope with 11 games left to play.
