Al-Tai claim dramatic victory in Jeddah
Al-Tai edged past Al-Adala 4-3 in a First Division encounter that finished with the visitors having the last word. The match unfolded across ninety minutes on Wednesday evening, with Eduardo Henrique scoring in the 91st minute to seal a result that improved Al-Tai's position in the table.Al-Adala struck first through A. Lopez in the 14th minute, but Simy equalised just before half-time at 45+2. The hosts then took the lead twice: A. Al Muwallad converted a penalty in the 66th minute, and A. Al Dosari added a third in the 70th. Al-Tai responded through D. Miranda in the 68th and E. Avornyo in the 88th, before Eduardo Henrique's late finish completed the turnaround. and here's the thing — by then the momentum had shifted completely.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with six changes recorded for each side. Al-Adala brought on A. Al Khalifa and S. Al Omaish together in the 65th minute, followed by A. Al Rashidi in the 66th. Al-Tai introduced S. Al Saleem in the 75th, A. Al Alawi in the 80th, and K. Al Muziel in the 82nd. The final wave of changes arrived in stoppage time, with M. Al Mutair and A. Lopez replaced on the hour-and-twenty mark, while R. Al Ibrahim came on for Al-Adala in the 86th.
Yellow cards arrived late: S. Faqihi for Al-Adala and A. Al Dossary for Al-Tai, both in the 90th minute or thereabouts. Neither side lost a player to a red card, and the disciplinary count remained even at one apiece.
The statistics tell a different story from the scoreline. Al-Adala dominated possession at 55 per cent and registered 67 attacks compared to 51 for the visitors. They also won 11 corners to 6 and produced 9 shots on target against 7. But Al-Tai were more clinical, hitting 70 per cent of their shots on target compared to 43 per cent for the hosts. to be fair — that efficiency mattered more than volume.
Before the match, Al-Tai sat third with six points from three games, having lost once. Al-Adala were sixth with four points, one win, one draw, and one defeat. The visitors had already shown vulnerability recently, losing 0-2 to Al-Ahdaud and 0-5 to Al-Qadisiya in their last two outings. Al-Adala came into this fixture off a 1-1 draw with Al-Wahda after a heavy defeat to Al-Fayha.
The result leaves Al-Tai two points clear of Al-Adala with the campaign still in its early stages. Three matches played for both sides, and the gap between them is now wider than it was after the opening round. The visitors have shown they can respond to poor form, while the hosts will rue a match where chances were squandered despite controlling territory.