Elite Joy League: Al-Hilal avenge Roshan's big guns, Al-Nassr fall again, and top spot between the two Jeddah giants
An exciting round in the Saudi Under-21 League
Saudi football fans were treated to fresh thrills across the fourth round of the Joy Elite League, the country's Under-21 competition. Several surprises unfolded along the way.
Eleven matches made up the fourth round on Sunday and Monday, 13 and 14 September. Not one of them lacked excitement.
Al-Ahly snatch the summit
Al-Ahli were the big winners from that round, snatching top spot on goals scored ahead of Al-Ittihad. They took advantage of the postponement of the match between previous leaders Al-Taawoun and Al-Akhdoud, now pushed back to December.
A comprehensive 4-0 win over Al-Watan did the damage at their stadium in Jeddah, spoiling their opponents' first outing in the Joy Elite League.
Ziyad Aba stayed off the scoresheet with the youngsters of "Al-Raqi", but there was no shortage of goals elsewhere. Mohammed Al-Malki, Musa Adam, Ramez Al-Attar and Yazid Al-Sharif struck in the 16th, 41st, 61st and 70th minutes respectively.
The result marked a recovery from a surprise slip last time out, when Al-Ahli were held to a 2-2 draw by Al-Jabalain. Three wins from four rounds now leave them top on 10 points, ahead of Al-Ittihad on goals scored and a point clear of Al-Ettifaq, Al-Fateh, Al-Hilal and Al-Taawoun.
For Al-Watan, it was a chastening introduction. They open their Joy Elite League campaign pointless and rooted to 22nd place.
Al-Ittihad settle the top clash against Al-Qadsiah
Al-Ahli opened the fourth round by climbing to the top of the Joy Elite League. Al-Ittihad closed it the same way, seeing off Al-Qadsiah in the top-of-the-table clash.
The win at their home ground in Jeddah was Al-Ittihad's third in a row in the Saudi Under-21 League, a 2-0 result at Al-Qadsiah's expense.
Nawaf Al-Jadaani and Ammar Al-Ghamdi grabbed the goals in the 45th and 58th minutes, and Al-Qadsiah had no answer.
Victory took Al-Ittihad to 10 points, second in the Joy Elite League table behind Al-Ahli on goals scored.
Al-Qadsiah, meanwhile, slipped to their second defeat of the season. Six points leaves them eleventh in the table.
Al-Hilal youngsters avenge the Roshn seniors
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, thumped their guests Neom 4-0 on Sunday at their stadium in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Tunisian striker Loua Abidi stole the show, netting Al-Hilal's second and third goals in the 10th and 45th minutes. Ahmed Bin Hameed opened the scoring and Ahmed Hamza added the fourth.
This emphatic result saw Al-Hilal's youngsters avenge the first team, who had slumped to a surprise 2-0 defeat against Neom last Monday at the Kingdom Arena stadium in Riyadh, in the sixth round of the Roshn League.
That loss was the first the first team had suffered this season in the Roshn League, and their first in any competition in 47 matches, stretching back to the season before last and following 39 games unbeaten under Italian coach Simone Inzaghi.
The win carried more significance still. It returned "the Leader" to the title race, lifting their tally to 9 points and fifth place in the table, one point behind joint leaders Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad.
Neom, by contrast, tasted defeat for the first time this season, having previously won one and drawn one. They sit on 4 points in fourteenth place.
Al-Nassr fall again
On the other side of the Saudi capital, Al-Nassr's slump in the Joy Elite League rolled on with another home shock, beaten 3-2 by visitors Al-Feiha.
Stranger still, the youngsters of "the global club" had raced into a two-goal lead. Youssef Al-Tahan struck on 19 minutes, Abdulrahman Al-Anzi on 28.
Al-Nassr took that 2-0 cushion towards the break, only for Al-Feiha to draw level with two goals in three minutes of first-half stoppage time. Mohammed Al-Duwaish and Muath Al-Habib did the damage.
Eight minutes from time, Fahad Al-Hubaishi snatched the winner for Al-Feiha. Al-Nassr had no reply.
That's a second defeat in a row for Al-Nassr's under-21 side this season, and they've played only three matches, having gone down 2-1 to Al-Fateh in the last round.
Rather than climbing back among the big teams, Al-Nassr slipped to 15th with just three points, well short of a knockout-stage berth come the end of the season.
Al-Fateh, by contrast, jumped up to fourth on nine points from three wins, their only defeat coming against league leaders Al-Ahli.
Al-Ittifaq: the strongest attack
Al-Ettifaq ran riot on the same day, thrashing Al-Wehda 6-0 in the Joy Elite League.
Five different players got on the scoresheet. Hassan Al-Muslim, Abdullah Balhareth, Jalal Al-Salem and Mohammed Al-Issa each grabbed one, while Abdulrahman Al-Ruwaili helped himself to a brace.
The result lifted Al-Ettifaq up to third with 9 points, a point behind Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad and ahead of Al-Fateh, Al-Hilal and Al-Taawoun on goal difference.
No side has scored more. Al-Ettifaq boast the strongest attack in the Joy Elite League after four rounds, hitting 20 goals at a rate of five per match.
Mohammed Al-Issa's strike in the 71st minute deserves a special mention. He beat two Al-Wehda defenders in superb fashion before slotting the ball home.
That was Al-Issa's fourth goal in as many matches in the Joy Elite League, a historic record all of his own. He is the only player to have found the net in every round of the current edition.
The Al-Ettifaq striker now has seven goals this season in the Saudi Under-21 League, pulling clear at the top of the scoring charts from Al-Fateh's Jefferson Ramos and Al-Ahli star Ziyad Aba, who sit second on four.
Al-Fateh refuses to repeat the final tragedy
Monday brought a repeat of last season's Joy Elite League final, with Al-Hazm hosting Al-Fateh.
Al-Hazm won that showdown four months ago. This time Al-Fateh had their revenge, winning 2-1 on the champions' own turf in Al-Russ.
Mohamed Al-Jaziri and Santos struck for Al-Fateh in the 9th and 47th minutes. Amadou Diang pulled one back for Al-Hazm in the 55th.
Victory lifted Al-Fateh to fourth in the Saudi Under-21 League on 9 points, a single point behind joint leaders Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad.
Al-Hazm, by contrast, slipped to a second defeat of the season. They sit 16th on 3 points.
Results of the remaining matches in the fourth round of the Joy Elite League
Al-Khaleej drew 2-2 with visitors Damac at their Sayhat home, while Al-Riyadh saw off Al-Tadamon 2-0 in the Saudi capital.
Away from home, Al-Khaleood edged Al-Najma 1-0 at the Education Department Stadium in Unaizah. Al-Orobah went down 1-0 to visitors Al-Faisaly, and Al-Ansar were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Jabalain.
One fixture failed to go ahead. The clash between Al-Akhdoud and Al-Taawoun at Najran has been pushed back to 21 December.
Summary of matchday four of the Joy Elite League
The fourth round of the Roshn Saudi Pro League produced 11 matches, nine of them decided by a winner. Only two ended level: Al-Khaleej 2-2 Damac, and Al-Ansar and Al-Jabalain sharing a goal apiece.
Those 11 matches yielded 34 goals, more than three per game. An extremely high rate.
Al-Ettifaq topped the round's scoring charts, putting six past Al-Wehda.
Individually, just two players struck more than once: Tunisia's Loui Al-Obaidi, the Al-Hilal forward, and Al-Ettifaq's Abdulrahman Al-Ruwaili.
