Al-Ahli achieved a valuable 3-1 victory over Al-Hazm, in the match that brought the two teams together on Friday evening as part of the seventh round of the Roshn Saudi League. The match witnessed all four goals being scored during the first half.
Al-Hazm surprised the hosts with a very early goal after just two minutes, when Ahmed Al-Nakhli managed to find the net with a left-footed shot from a difficult angle, putting his team in the lead from the start.
Al-Ahli tried to respond quickly, and Francisco Trincão almost equalized in the 9th minute, but Al-Hazm's defense intervened at the right time and cleared his left-footed shot from outside the penalty area.
Al-Ahli's attacking attempts continued, and this time it was through Ivan Toney, who shot from inside the area in the 19th minute, but Al-Hazm's defense blocked the ball after a cross sent by Wenderson Galino.
The equalizer came in the 21st minute, after the ball reached Trincão inside the penalty area, where he unleashed a left-footed shot that found the back of the net, bringing Al-Ahli back into the game.
Al-Ahli's pressure did not stop, and Galino almost gave his team the lead in the 26th minute, but he missed a dangerous chance when his right-footed shot from inside the area went wide of the post.
Al-Ahli managed to turn the score around in the 31st minute when they were awarded a penalty kick, which Ivan Toney successfully converted, firing the ball powerfully into the net and putting his team in the lead.
Before the end of the first half, Toney made his mark again, scoring Al-Ahli's third goal in the 44th minute from close range, giving his team a comfortable advantage before the break.
At the start of the second half, Al-Hazm tried to reduce the deficit and get back into the game. Their most notable attempt came in the 50th minute through Elton Acolatse, who unleashed a shot from outside the penalty area, but it went over the crossbar.
Al-Ahli maintained their lead until the end, earning three precious points that raised their tally to 12 points in fifth place in the Roshn League standings, while Al-Hazm remained at 8 points in tenth place.