Five minutes were enough to earn Al-Ittihad a 2-1 victory over Abha in their Saudi Premier League match at the Prince Sultan Sports City in Asir on Wednesday. Khaled Al-Zailay gave Abha the lead after the break to see the team resisting until Sultan Al-Nomari drew level five minutes before Naif Hazazi sealed the win. The win extended Al-Ittihad lead on top to be on 19 points while Abha remained in the 11th spot with just three points. In Jeddah, Al-Wehdah and Al-Ahli shared the spoils after a goalless draw at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium. After a goalless first half, Khaled Al-Zailay hit the net of Al-Ittihad's Mabruk Zaid with a shot in the 53rd minute from inside the box. Al-Ittihad pressed forward looking for the equalizer but the home team defended stoutly depending on counter attacks that almost doubled the lead on many occasions. In the 72nd minute, young striker Sultan Al-Nomri pounced on a rebound from the left post of Abha to score the equalizer. Five minutes later, Hazazi headed in off a corner kick to hit the left side of Abha goalkeeper and sealed the win. In another match of the seventh round of the league, defending champion Al-Hilal continued its chase to catch Ittihad following a 2-1 win over Al-Hazm in Al-Rass. Senegalese Roubize Mohammed took the lead for Al-Hazm only three minutes after the kick off as he converted a penalty shot into the right side of Mohammed Al-Deayea. Mohammed Al-Shalhoub made it 1-1 also from the spot before striker Yasser Al-Qahtani sealed the win for Hilal. Al-Hilal is now in the second spot on 16 points, two points ahead of its home rival Al-Nasr which recorded 1-0 win over Al-Watani at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh. International striker Saad Al-Harthi scored the only goal for Al-Nasr in the 74th minute. Al-Ittifaq also won over home team Najran, thanks to two goals scored by Abdul Rahman Al-Qahtani and Saleh Basher. At the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, newly-promoted Al-Raed surprised Al-Shabab at home by recording a 4-1 victory over the defending champion of the King's Cup. The win took Al-Raed to the ninth spot with five points while Al-Shabab moved back to the seventh place with nine points. __
