Video: Al-Khaleej stun Al-Nassr on a night of historic achievement
A major blow
Al-Nassr were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Al-Khaleej on Saturday evening in the seventh round of the Roshn Saudi Pro League. The hosts dug in superbly, weathering wave after wave of Al-Nassr pressure.
Mascarell surprises Al-Nassr before the end of the first half
Al-Khaleej came flying out of the blocks and stunned Al-Nassr before the interval, Omar Mascarell striking the opener in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.
Mascarell's header handed the hosts a precious lead going into the break, leaving Al-Nassr with it all to do after the restart.
Al-Nassr came out for the second half throwing bodies forward in search of a leveller. Al-Khaleej's defence and goalkeeper stood firm, though, snuffing out more than one effort inside the box.
Al-Nassr kept pressing as the second half wore on. Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and the rest of "Al-Alami" carved out chances, but Al-Khaleej defended stubbornly and their goalkeeper stood tall to keep the ball out.
The equaliser finally arrived in the 72nd minute. Substitute Abdullah Al-Hamdan unleashed a rocket of a shot that shook Al-Khaleej's net, levelling the match and handing his side the chance to chase a winner.
Buoyed by Al-Hamdan's strike, Al-Nassr threw everything forward. Ronaldo, Felix and the rest kept firing, yet Al-Khaleej held firm to the finish, denying "Al-Alami" all three points.
A draw with a historic flavour: Al-Nassr third
Al-Nassr may have been held to a draw, but they walked away with a slice of history. Their goal against Al-Khaleej stretched their scoring run in the Roshn League to 94 consecutive matches, toppling the record set by Argentina's River Plate, who had found the net in 93 games in a row.
The point lifted Al-Nassr to 16 and third place in the Roshn Saudi Pro League, a single point behind Al-Ittihad in second. Al-Hilal sit top with 18.
Al-Khaleej, for their part, ground out a precious point. They weathered a second-half onslaught and held their draw until the final whistle, denying "the Global Club" another win and leaving them with just one point from the seventh round.
