Hilal and Al-Nasr shared the spoils following a 1-1 draw in their round ten Zain Saudi Professional League encounter at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh Sunday. Midfielder Abdurrahman Al-Qahtani put Nasr in the lead from the spot in the first half before the host team's striker Eissa Al-Muhayani leveled the score after the break. The two teams played an open match and threatened each other's goal time and again. Nasr goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Enezi, however, was the difference and denied Hilal on several occasions. Hilal defender Majed Al-Marshadi brought down Nasr's Rayyan Bilal in the 18th minute and Al-Qahtani made no mistake on the resulting spot kick. Nasr closed its zone and started banking on counter attacks. This helped Hilal press its opponents at will in a search for an equalizer. Nasr's Enezi put on a great performance denying all Hilal attempts, including one by midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson. Nasr defenders were also alert and stood firm in the face of some fierce attacks by Hilal's strikers. Nasr defender Mohammed Eid foiled another attempt by Wilhelmsson when he stopped the ball on the goal line. Hilal players' efforts bore fruit in the 62nd minute when Muhayani managed to put midfielder Mohammed Al-Shalhoub's pass into the far left bottom corner of Enezi. The rest of the match was a tale of missed opportunities. Midfielder Ahmed Abbas could have put Nasr back into the lead a minute later had Hilal keeper Khaled Sharaheely not been standing in the right place. Muhayani also missed an easy chance to score in the 75th minute, when the unmarked striker failed to redirect Wilhelmsson's cross into the goal. With three matches in hand, Hilal is still fourth on the standings with 16 points, a single point behind Nasr, which is third.
