JEDDAH: Shabab escaped from Jeddah with one point after they were held 1-1 by Al-Ahli at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal stadium on Friday in round 15 of the Saudi Professional League.
This was good news for Al-Hilal who lost to Al-Nasr 2-1 on Thursday.
Four points now separate toppers Hilal and Shabab. If Shabab had won today the difference would have been only two points.
Shabab shot into the lead in the 25th minute when Ahmad Utaif’s long ranger beat rival goalkeeper hands down.
Ahli restored parity a few minutes before half time when Homoud Abbas’s power packed drive went to the right of rival goalkeeper.
Shabab is still in the second place with 34 points while Ahli dropped to the fifth spot with 20 points.
Al-Ittihad struggled to get the better of hosts Najran 3-2 in a tense encounter.
Najran dropped to the bottom of the table with seven points while Ittihad strengthened their position and is now third on the table with 26 points.
Al-Raid and Al-Hazem drew 1-1 in Buraidah. Al-Raid remained 11th in the standings with seven points while Al-Hazem is eighth with 16 points.
Al-Ittifaq routed Al-Fateh 3-0, which helped them move to the ninth position with 13 points while Fateh is seventh with 17 points.
In Makkah, Wehda collected the three points against Qadesiya winning 2-1. Wehda jumped to the fourth place with 20 points — same as Ahli — but is in fourth place because of goal differences. Qadesiya is dangerously placed in the tenth position with 11 points.
