Pitso Mosimane’s Abha Club’s hope of remaining in the Saudi Pro League received a much-needed boost when they recorded a 2-1 victory against Al-Khaleej yesterday.
The win provided the club a much-needed lifeline as they managed to climb from the 17th to the 15th spot in the log standings which is a point above the relegation zone.
Francois Kamano opened the scoring for Mosimane’s side in the 34th minute, the visitors continued to press and managed to find a goal in the 78th minute through substitute Abdullah Al-Salem. It looked as if both sides would share the spoils until Fabian Noguera scored in the 94th minute to ensure that his side bagged all three points.
Abha will face the already-relegated Al Hazem in the final match of the season while the other relegation candidates Al Tai will also be locking horns with Al-Okhdood in a bid to finish 15th or above.
The 59-year-old side is facing a must-win situation to be able to escape the axe. Despite having the worst defence in the league which has seen them concede 85 league goals they are the stronger side and are expected to pull out all the stops to keep their status in the Saudi top-flight league.
Written by Siphesihle Soni