JEDDAH: Al-Nasr was held by bottom-placed Al-Raid goalless in a round 11 encounter of the Saudi Professional League in Buraidah on Wednesday.
Nasr dominated proceedings throughout the match but found the Raid defense a hard nut to crack.
Hence, Nasr lost a golden opportunity of moving fourth in the standings but now remain in the sixth spot with 11 points while Al-Raid continue to linger at the bottom.
In Al-Rass, the Makkah based team Wehda rallied to get the better of Al-Hazem 2-1 after trailing by a goal at the halfway stage.
Waleed Al-Jezani scored the first goal for Al-Hazem in the 10th minute. Yousuf Qudaiwi leveled in the 74th minute.
Muhammad Al-Kaltham of Hazem scored in his own goal giving Wehda victory and three points. Wehda advanced to the fourth position with 13 points while Al-Hazem dropped to the eight slot with 11 points.
In the last match of the day, Al-Shabab routed Qadesiya 3-0 and collected full points.
Amado scored the first goal in the 71st minute, Naser Al-Shamrani in the 79th minute and Amado scored again during injury time.
Shabab and Hilal are level with 26 points each but Shabab are second on goal difference. Qadesiya is tenth in the standing with seven points only.
Meanwhile the stage is set for the match between the top teams Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad on Thursday at the Prince Faisal bin Fahd stadium in Riyadh.
Hilal is unbeaten with eight wins and two draws. Ittihad is third in the standing with 18 points from eight matches with six wins and two defeats.
Hilal will look to consolidate their position as a win will increase the gap between them and Shabab.
Ittihad will strive hard be the first team to inflict a defeat on unbeaten Hilal. Ittihad on the other hand will be without Muhammad Nur, Saud Kariri and Reda Tukar and will try to prove again that their absence will not mean much to the defending champions who played without these players against rival Al Ahli in round ten and won 2-1.
On paper, Hilal looks a better side than their rivals and will be playing almost at full strength.
The Ittihad coach will be happy to come off at least with a draw and narrow the gap at the top.
Ahli will host Al-Fateh in Jeddah at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal stadium. Ahli dropped to the seventh position with 11 points while Al-Fateh is fifth in the standing with 12 points. Ittifaq and Najran will play in the last match of the day in Dammam. Ittifaq is eleventh in the standing with six points and Najran is ninth with seven points.
