Al Kholood shock Al Ahli as stoppage-time strike seals Saudi Pro League upset

Al Kholood produced one of the Saudi Pro League’s biggest surprises of the season by beating Al Ahli 3-1 on Saturday, with two late goals completing a dramatic victory for the home side.

Al Ahli had appeared to recover after Ivan Toney equalised in the 66th minute, but Julian Dominguez restored Al Kholood’s lead five minutes from time before Mohamed Soaan added a third in the second minute of stoppage time.

The match began with a significant refereeing decision. In the fourth minute, referee Shukri Al-Hanfoush reviewed Al Ahli’s appeal for a penalty using the video assistant referee system, but the spot-kick was ultimately not awarded.

Play was briefly stopped in the seventh minute because of an injury to Trincao. Al Ahli then began to threaten the Al Kholood goal, with Artem Bondarenko seeing an effort from outside the penalty area blocked in the 11th minute.

Bondarenko had another opportunity in the 23rd minute after receiving a pass from Toney, but his shot went over the crossbar. Following a drinks break in the 24th minute, Al Kholood started to make more progress in attack.

Their pressure was rewarded in the 32nd minute. Koba da Costa supplied Iker Kortajarena inside the penalty area, and the midfielder guided a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner to give the hosts the lead.

Al Ahli attempted to respond before the interval. Trincao had an effort blocked in the 36th minute, while Toney sent a header narrowly wide in the third minute of added time at the end of the first half.

Al Ahli made a change at the break, bringing on Mohamed Abdulrahman for Rayan Hamed, and began the second half with greater intensity. The visitors won a corner in the 50th minute before Trincao missed with an attempt from outside the box in the 64th minute.

Two further substitutions followed for Al Ahli in the same minute, with Saleh Abu Al-Shamat replacing Firas Al-Buraikan and Zakaria Al-Hawsawi coming on for Saad Yaslam.

The changes quickly had an impact. In the 66th minute, Eduard Spertsyan played the ball to Toney, who finished with his right foot from the right side of the penalty area, sending the ball into the middle of the goal to make it 1-1.

Al Ahli continued to look for a second goal. Abu Al-Shamat headed wide from inside the area two minutes later after a cross from Trincao, while Spertsyan then sent a left-footed effort narrowly past the post.

Al Kholood refused to settle for simply defending the draw. Abdulrahman Al-Dosari replaced Kortajarena in the 73rd minute, and Mohamed Soaan came on for Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa five minutes later.

Al Ahli appeared to be building another attack in the 83rd minute when Spertsyan delivered a corner, but Al Kholood’s defence dealt with Roger Ibanez’s header. A minute later, the hosts also blocked a Bondarenko effort inside the penalty area.

However, the decisive moment came in the 85th minute. Ramzi Solan found Dominguez, who finished from close range to put Al Kholood back in front.

Al Ahli introduced Abdullah Al-Radif for Bondarenko in the 87th minute and pushed forward during stoppage time. Al-Radif headed just wide in the 90th minute, then saw another header saved by Hamed Al-Shanqeeti a minute later. Spertsyan also missed the target with a long-range attempt.

Al Kholood then sealed the points in the 92nd minute. Koba da Costa set up Soaan, who struck a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area into the bottom-right corner.

The result lifted Al Kholood to third in the Saudi Pro League table with eight points. Al Ahli dropped to sixth on six points, as the team from Al-Rass claimed a notable early-season victory against one of the competition’s bigger clubs.