Antunes double sends Al-Riyad through in King's Cup
Al-Riyad saw off Az-Zulfi 2-0 in the Round of 32 of the King's Cup on Sunday evening. L. Antunes marked his night with two goals, and his side progressed while the hosts were left to ponder a performance that never quite clicked.
The breakthrough came in the twenty-fifth minute when Antunes got on the end of a move and finished. Az-Zulfi had possession of 44 per cent but kept knocking on the door without finding the pattern that opens defences. To be fair, they created one big chance but could not convert.
By then the match had settled into a rhythm that suited the visitors. The second goal arrived in the seventy-fourth minute — Antunes again — and T. Okou picked up a yellow card in the sixty-eighth after a challenge that broke up the flow. Three substitutions for Az-Zulfi in the seventy-eighth minute suggested a shift in approach, though it made little difference.
Antunes was taken off in the eighty-sixth minute, having done enough. Al-Riyad brought on S. Hazazi and B. Mensah in the ninety-third minute to see out the remaining time. The visitors controlled the tempo without needing to chase the game.
The statistics told the story. Al-Riyad registered 1.34 expected goals against 0.47 for the hosts, and their two shots on target compared with one for Az-Zulfi. The hosts attempted thirteen crosses and succeeded in three, but the final third offered little. Possession at 56 per cent for Al-Riyad meant they dictated the space.
A clean sheet and a goal difference that now favours them — that is what matters in a knockout tie. Az-Zulfi go home with memories of a match decided by three or four moments, and the rest was noise.