Al-Sukour saw off Al-Faisaly 3-1 in the King's Cup Round of 32 on Monday evening. The visitors controlled the tempo from the opening exchanges and never looked back once they took the lead. Al-Faisaly's recent form — that heavy 4-2 defeat to Al-Hilal just four days prior — suggested vulnerability, and the visitors punished it ruthlessly.
S. Haddad opened the scoring in the twenty-first minute, a composed finish that caught the home side flat-footed. To be fair, Al-Faisaly had dallied on the ball in midfield, and the visitors took advantage. S. Benrahma doubled the advantage on thirty-six minutes, and by then the match was slipping away from the hosts. An own goal from A. Subayt just before half-time — forty-five minutes and three on the clock — was a cruel blow that left Al-Faisaly trailing by three.
The management changes told their own story. Al-Faisaly made three substitutions around the break, bringing on A. Al Othman, A. Abdu and I. Hawsawi, hoping to restart their campaign. Al-Sukour responded with a triple change of their own at sixty-four minutes — Ella, Fallatah and Benrahma off — and the visitors kept their legs fresh for what was already a comfortable position.
A. Lacazette added a fourth goal at sixty-eight minutes, cutting them open at will against a side that had switched off at the back. The yellow cards came thick and fast in the second half — Zeze, Hejji, Galtier and Al Oyayari all booked — suggesting a match that had lost its composure. The old head settled them down in the end, but it was too late.
Al-Sukour's recent results read like a European tour: victories over Al-Faiha, Las Palmas, Al-Arabi and Orlando Pirates, with only a defeat to Granada to mar the run. Al-Faisaly, meanwhile, have hit a wall since that midweek loss. The table goes out of the window in these games, but the message was clear enough.
