RIYADH: Al-Kholood's historic run to the King Cup final last season remains a surreal achievement for Des Buckingham's side.
Against all odds, they fought to avoid relegation in only their second season in the top flight before going on to face Al-Hilal in the final, even taking the lead before falling to a 2-1 defeat. The Pride of Al-Rass have shown no signs of stopping this season, claiming the joint-largest victory of the Round of 32 with a stellar 5-0 win against Jeddah.
The match began with the Iker Kortajarena show: a 24-minute hat-trick from the Spanish attacking midfielder put the game to bed before the break. In the third minute, he opened the scoring by latching onto Mansour Camara's header in the six-yard box with a cool finish past Yasser Al-Mosaileem. In the 16th minute, he left Al-Mosaileem with no chance, unleashing a long-range effort into the back of the net. He completed his hat-trick in the 27th minute with a precise, dipping curler.
Coba Da Costa built on his impressive performance against Al-Ittihad in the SPL on Saturday with a goal in the 40th minute, rounding the goalkeeper before slotting the ball home from a tight angle. Guga rounded off the scoring with a long-range strike in the opening moments of the second half.
Elsewhere, Al-Taawoun secured a routine 3-0 victory over Damac in Khamis Mushayt, with Abdelrazzak Hamedallah opening his account for the club. He converted from the spot in first-half stoppage time before setting up Rakan Al-Tulayhi's goal in the 55th minute. Young Saif Rashad also scored his first club goal, sealing the win in the 77th minute.
In the biggest surprise of the Round of 32, First Division side Al-Ula cruised to a 3-0 victory against SPL opponents Al-Fateh. In a disappointing night for Khaled Al-Atwi's side, Al-Ula showed why they could be dark horse contenders in the tournament — having narrowly missed out on promotion to the SPL last season after losing to Diriyah in the promotion playoff.
Romell Quioto opened the scoring with a composed finish in the fourth minute, before Yoann Barbet added a second in the 23rd minute and Sylla Sow converted from the spot in the 75th to send Al-Ula into the Round of 16 for the first time in the club’s history.
The King Cup Round of 16 draw takes place on Thursday at Thmanyah Studios, with all five top-flight finishers from last season — Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli, Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ittihad — still in contention.
