JEDDAH: Trust Najran to deliver against the big teams. Yesterday, Najran defeated Al-Nasr 1-0 in a stunning round eight reversal in the Saudi Professional League.
Abdul Fattah Safi scored the only goal of the match in Najran in the 32nd minute as Najran claimed another big fish for a victim after beating Al-Hilal in a round six match. Also, Najran put league leader Al-Ittihad through the wringer before Ittihad won, 3-2, in the seventh round.
A stonewall Najran defense blunted all attempts from Nasr to equalize.
By beating Nasr, Najran did idle Ittihad a favor as the Jeddah-based club stayed five points clear of the pack.
Hilal, which drew 0-0 against Al-Wehda, also benefited by taking over second place from Nasr which slid to third in the team standings.
Hilal and Nasr are equal on 17 points but the former took second on goal difference.
Al-Shabab defeated Al-Hazem 2-0 in Riyadh to hike its tally to 15 points in fourth place behind Nasr.
Meantime, Al-Ahli continued its struggling campaign following a 1-1 draw with Al-Ittifaq at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.
To compound its woes Ahli had two players namely Muhammad Eid and Adel Muaza red carded.
Saleh Basheer scored the goal for Ittifaq in the 81st minute with Ahli snatching the equalizer nine minutes later on a header.
