Al-Jabalain took all three points at Hajer on Saturday evening, winning 1-0 in the Fifth round of the First Division. Carlos Daniel broke the deadlock in the eighty-second minute, and the home side could not find an equaliser despite pressing in the final stages. The result moves the visitors up to fifth while Hajer remain fourteenth.
By then the match had settled into a pattern neither side could quite break. Hajer enjoyed more possession but struggled to create clear chances, while Al-Jabalain looked sharper on the counter. A. Derbal picked up a yellow card in the forty-seventh minute, a sign of the tension building as the half wore on.
And here's the thing about this game — it was decided by moments, not dominance. We had called for an away win before kick-off, confidence at forty-nine percent, and the prediction came through. Carlos Daniel worked his way into space and finished sharply. Hajer brought on substitutions to open things out but came for a cross he never reached.
The statistics tell a similar story. Both sides registered one shot on target and eleven off target, though Hajer's accuracy sat at eight percent alongside Al-Jabalain's. The hosts managed ninety-four attacks compared to ninety-six for the visitors, but possession favoured the away side at fifty-seven percent to forty-three.
To be fair, neither team dominated the air. Each side won two corners and twenty-one or twenty-two throw-ins, while goal kicks totalled eleven for Hajer and fifteen for Al-Jabalain. Offsides were minimal — zero for the hosts, three for the visitors — suggesting most play stayed onside.
The substitutions told of late urgency from both camps. Hajer brought on A. Derbal and W. Zaidi in the eighty-fifth minute alongside S. Al Rahmani, while Al-Jabalain introduced Luvannor and replaced H. Al Harbi. Carlos Daniel himself was withdrawn in the ninety-second minute, his job done.
The result keeps Al-Jabalain in touch with the top half, eight points from five games, while Hajer sit on five with a game in hand. Not much separates them yet, but the quality of finish made all the difference on this occasion.