Al-Sahel moved two points clear of Al-Jazira in Division 1 after a 2-0 win at the Al-Jazira Stadium on Thursday evening. The result in Regular Season matchday 19 leaves both sides level on games played at 21, but the table gap has shifted in favour of the visitors.
Al-Jazira had looked comfortable enough in their recent run, picking up a 2-2 draw with Haitan and a 5-0 thrashing of Shammah before that. But by then the visitors arrived with their own momentum, having beaten Shammah 3-0 and Sporty 2-0 in their last two outings.
And here's the thing — Al-Sahel's away form has been particularly sharp. They came from a 0-0 stalemate with Burkan and a 1-1 draw with Haitan to string together two consecutive clean sheets. That streak came to an end here, but only because they were too good.
To be fair, the visitors had nothing to lose and everything to prove. They carried their 13 wins from 21 games into this fixture and didn't let Al-Jazira settle. The hosts had been solid at home all season, but this was a different proposition.
By then the points mattered more than anything else. Al-Sahel sit second on 44 points, while Al-Jazira remain fourth with 38. The six-point difference between them has shrunk, but the margin hasn't closed enough to guarantee anything.