Al-Fayha came from behind to edge Abha 3-2 in the Pro-League's fourth round of matches on Thursday evening. The hosts ended a barren run that had seen them lose their last outing 0-3 to Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia, while the visitors maintained their winless start to the campaign.
Lazaro opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and doubled his tally at the start of the second half. By then Al-Fayha had been pressing high up the pitch, their 55 per cent possession reflecting a side that wanted to control the tempo. The away end never stopped though, and they pulled one back through Alimami Gory in the 84th minute.
And here's the thing about this match — the real turning point came in the 87th minute when Abdou Diallo turned his own team's advantage against them with an unfortunate own goal. That left Abha chasing the game, and they went for it. Michel Batshuayi converted a penalty in the 90th minute to make it 3-2, though VAR later confirmed a spot-kick for Gory that wouldn't change the outcome.
To be fair, Al-Fayha switched off at the back at crucial moments. They created four big chances against Abha's two, and their expected goals figure of 2.15 told a different story from the final scoreline. The visitors were more clinical with 63 per cent shot accuracy compared to Al-Fayha's 33 per cent.
The result keeps Al-Fayha in 11th place with four points from four games, while Abha remain rooted to 17th on just one point. The hosts had lost three of their last four before this victory, so it ended a barren spell in more ways than one.
