Abha vs Al Ittihad: late strike from substitute Al-Subiani earns 1-1 draw in Roshn Saudi League

Abha held visitors Al Ittihad to a 1-1 draw on Friday, 30 October, at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium, in a round 12 Roshn Saudi League match whose kick-off had been brought forward. The hosts snatched a valuable point in the closing minutes after Al Ittihad had looked close to settling the game.

The first half ended goalless despite Al Ittihad's advantage in possession and build-up play. Algerian midfielder Houssem Aouar opened the scoring for Al Ittihad in the 52nd minute, and the visitors appeared on course for another win as Abha dropped deeper into their own half.

Abha's coach gambled on changes, sending on Faisal Al-Subiani in the 77th minute. The substitute needed only ten minutes to equalise in the 87th, and Al Ittihad's late efforts to restore their lead failed to change the score before the final whistle.

The result takes Al Ittihad to 24 points in fourth place, while Abha collected their third point of the season and stay bottom without a win, days after losing 1-0 to Al Faisaly, in a week in which they played twice.

Al Majlis Analysis: The draw carries two opposite messages. For Abha, the point is a morale boost for a side at the bottom of the table that has yet to win, and it shows that substitutes can change the course of a match when a team holds on to its chance until the final minutes. Al Ittihad, meanwhile, dropped two valuable points in the race for the top four after controlling the ball for most of the game without turning that superiority into a second goal to settle the result. In a league where the leading clubs are this close together, points dropped against teams at the bottom can make the difference at the end of the season, which puts the coaching staff's attacking efficiency and game management to the test in the coming rounds.