Al-Uraba and Abha played out a 0-0 draw in the Round of 32 of the King's Cup on Saturday, with the hosts winning 4-2 on penalties after 120 minutes of stalemate. The match at the Abha ground offered little in the way of clear-cut chances, as both sides found each other difficult to break down.
By then the first real incident had arrived. H. Al Maqati picked up a booking in the twentieth minute, and that seemed to set the tone for a physical encounter. To be fair, neither side pushed hard enough to earn a penalty or create a big chance before the break.
Al-Uraba made three changes in the second half, bringing on B. Al Sayyali in the fifty-ninth and then A. Al Sultan and R. Awadh Al Lehyani together sixty-two minutes in. Abha responded with A. Diallo and M. Al-Zaid at the restart, while Maome Nao arrived seventy-four minutes into the contest.
The game opened up in extra time, though not in the way either manager would have predicted. R. Faraj went off his side in the sixty-fourth minute, and later yellow cards for R. Al Ruwaili, F. Al Rashid, and A. Hindi kept the temperature up. Al-Uraba then saw H. Al Maqati substituted in the eighty-first minute.
And here's the thing about the shootout. Z. Al Hunayti fired home for Al-Uraba on the first spot-kick, N. Fekir saw his effort saved for Abha. A. Masnom, F. Al Ghamdi, R. Al Hazmi, and J. Gaari all converted for the hosts, while K. Al Qahtani, R. Faraj, and F. Al Subiani missed for the visitors. A. Al Fhaigi picked up a yellow card during the exchange.
The numbers told a familiar story. Abha held 72 per cent of possession and registered 174 attacks, compared with 28 per cent and 117 for Al-Uraba. But expected goals sat at 1.42 for the visitors and 0.8 for the hosts, with shots on target running at 4 and 5 respectively.
Al-Uraba advance to the next round, which means they have held their nerve after a match that belonged to Abha on paper but not on the pitch.