Abha vs Al-Ittihad: Late Al-Subiani Strike Rescues Point for Bottom Side

Abha against Al-Ittihad looked on paper like a formality, with the league's bottom club on 2 points hosting a side fourth in the table on 23. Al-Ittihad had the ball, the shots and the better chances, yet they left with a single point after failing to turn control into a second goal. Faisal Al-Subiani's 87th-minute equaliser was the moment that settled it.

The shape of the game was clear from the first whistle. Al-Ittihad's 4-2-3-1 dominated possession with 62 percent and out-shot Abha 10 to 7, with an expected goals figure of 1.38 against 0.76. Abha, set up in a 4-4-1-1 under Burić, sat deep and tried to stay compact, accepting that they would spend long spells without the ball. That approach came at a price in discipline. They committed 15 fouls to Al-Ittihad's 7, and four of their players were booked, Loreintz Rosier in the 25th minute, Mohammed Al-Dosari in the 49th, and Nasser Al Daajani and Kamil Boumedmed both in the 90th. A low block that relies on breaking up play rather than winning the ball cleanly tends to look like that, and it kept Al-Ittihad's front line from settling into any rhythm.

The breakthrough still came, three minutes after Al-Dosari's caution, when Houssem Aouar scored in the 52nd. He was the visitors' standout, rated 8.0, and the goal fitted the pattern of a side with the more fluent attacking unit finding a way through a deep defence. From there the question was whether Al-Ittihad could put the match away. They could not, and the numbers show why. Despite creating more, they put only 3 of their 10 shots on target, while Abha managed 5 on target from 7. Al-Ittihad's keeper made 4 saves, a sign that the home side's few opportunities were of real quality even if they were rare.

That left the game on a knife-edge for more than half an hour, and Abha's patience paid off when Al-Subiani struck in the 87th minute. It was a reward for a side that had defended in numbers and stayed in the contest rather than one that had pushed the game. Al-Subiani earned the top rating on the pitch at 8.1, ahead of Aouar, and Abdullah Al Fahad also stood out for the hosts at 6.8. Saad Al Mosa, rated 7.3, was Al-Ittihad's other notable performer.

The result cut against expectation in the table sense. A team that has taken only 2 points from 10 matches holding a top-four side to a draw is the kind of outcome the standings do not predict, and it will count for Abha as proof they can compete when they defend as a unit. For Al-Ittihad, it is two points dropped in the manner that tends to haunt contenders: they were the better side by the underlying numbers, led through a quality finish, and then could not add the second goal that would have ended the argument. Wissing's team will reflect on a finish that lacked the same sharpness as their build-up.