Ittihad got the better of its city rival Al-Ahli 3-1 in their fifth round Zain Saudi Professional League match at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Thursday. Algerian striker Abdul-Malik Ziaya put Ittihad in the lead with his Portuguese teammate Lopes Nuno Assis doubling the lead. Midfielder Mo'ataz Al-Mousa pulled one back for Ahli, but Paulo Jorge restored the margin sealing Tiger's win. The night elsewhere saw two 1-1 draws played out in Al-Faisali vs. Al-Nasr and Al-Hazm vs. Al-Wehda matches. The Hilal vs. Fateh match was put off. Ittihad fans had to wait only 10 minutes to celebrate their team's first goal when Ziaya headed a cross into the rival goal. Ziaya took a shy at the goal even before the supporters could take their seats, but Ahli goalkeeper Abdullah Ma'ayouf only pushed the ball towards the advancing Assis who pushed the ball into the net. Mo'ataz Al-Mousa pulled one back for Ahli when he received a corner kick from the right and kicked it into the right corner of Ittihad goalkeeper Mabrouk Za'id. With only a single win, Ahli's new coach Serbian Milovan Rajevac changed his strategy from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 bringing in striker Malik Mo'adh in place of Alaa Raishani. Jorge made it 3-1 for Ittihad when his kick from outside the area hit an Ahli defender and deflected into the left corner of Ma'ayouf's goal. Assis almost added a fourth goal for Ittihad when he pushed the ball over the advancing Ahli goalkeeper only to see the ball bounce over the bar. Ittihad tops the standings with 15 points while Ahli falls back to 12th spot with three points. In the Al-Faisali vs. Al-Nasr match, a late goal by Aqeel Al-Sahbi helped the former share points with the visiting team. Abdu Barnawi scored a goal for the visitors in the 57th minute. Nasr now sits fourth in the standings with nine points, while Faisali remains 13th with two. At Al-Hazm Club Stadium, Al-Hazm also shared the points with the visiting team Al-Wehdah after a 1-1 tie. The visitors took the lead in the 61st minute through midfielder Abdul Aziz Al-Khathran with the host team's striker Mohammed Al-Anbar coming late with the equalizer. The draw leaves Wehdah 10th on the standings with three points. Hazm sits in the bottom with only two points. Friday's action will see Al-Ittifaq host Najran while Al-Ra'id will take on Al
