An-Nahda beat Al-Musanna 1-0 in the opening match of the Professional League season on Saturday. The hosts secured all three points with a goal in the eighty-sixth minute, taking the lead after a game that had been tight for most of the ninety minutes.
They had missed their chance earlier. A penalty was awarded in the fiftieth minute but An-Nahda failed to convert, and the match remained goalless until the final quarter. To be fair, Al-Musanna had not been entirely without chances, but they could not find the net when it mattered.
By then the statistics told the fuller story. An-Nahda recorded 163 attacks compared with 88 for their visitors, and held 70 per cent of possession. They earned six corners to Al-Musanna's single attempt, and the visitors were forced into eleven goal kicks while the hosts managed only five.
The result carried extra weight given what had come before. Al-Musanna had lost 1-3 to An-Nahda in December 2025, and this time they had come looking for something different. They pressed hard enough to earn a yellow card, but the hosts weathered the pressure and punished them from nothing more than persistence.
Both sides entered the match with zero games played and zero points, so this was a clean slate for the season. An-Nahda now sit top of the table after claiming their first points, while Al-Musanna have not yet tasted victory.