Jawwy Elite League: Al-Ittihad go top as Ammar Al-Ghamdi scores hat-trick

Al-Ittihad moved clear at the summit of the Jawwy Elite League Under-21 after beating Al-Faisaly 3-1 in the fifth round, with Ammar Al-Ghamdi scoring all three goals.

The result took Al-Ittihad to 13 points, two ahead of Al-Ahli, while Al-Fateh climbed to second place on 12 points after taking advantage of Al-Ahli’s 2-2 draw with Al-Qadsiah.

Al-Ittihad have now won four of their five matches and remain unbeaten. Their victory in Al Majma’ah extended an impressive start to the campaign and maintained their position at the top of the table.

Al-Fateh moved above Al-Ahli after defeating Al-Orobah 1-0. Al-Ahli’s draw with Al-Qadsiah left them on 11 points, allowing their rivals to reduce the gap at the top.

Seven-goal thriller between Al-Taawoun and Al-Riyadh

The highest-scoring match of the round came at Al-Taawoun, where Al-Riyadh secured a 4-3 victory in a contest featuring seven goals.

Al-Riyadh held on for all three points despite conceding three times, in a match that swung between the two sides during an eventful attacking display.

Elsewhere, Al-Kholood beat Al-Ettifaq 3-1, while NEOM defeated Al-Khaleej 1-0. Al-Nassr overcame Damac by the same scoreline, and Al-Watano also won 1-0 against Al-Okhdood.

Al-Ansar and Al-Wehda played out a goalless draw, while Al-Hilal and Al-Jabalain shared six goals in a 3-3 stalemate. Al-Fayha recorded the biggest win of the round by beating Al-Najma 4-0.

Al-Ghamdi leads scoring highlights

Al-Ghamdi was the standout individual performer after his hat-trick against Al-Faisaly made him the only player to score three goals in the fifth round.

The Al-Ittihad forward now has six goals in the competition and has moved into second place in the scoring chart. He is one goal behind Mohammed Al-Essa, the Al-Ettifaq forward.

Three players also scored twice during the round: Abdulmajeed Al-Sharif of Al-Taawoun, Daniel Al-Habib of Al-Fayha and Kabiru Salisu of Al-Jabalain.

Eight teams kept clean sheets during the round. Al-Fayha, Al-Fateh, Al-Watano, Al-Nassr, NEOM, Al-Wehda and Al-Ansar were among those to avoid conceding, alongside another team listed in the round’s results.

Al-Fayha produced the strongest attacking display among the teams with a clean sheet, scoring four times against Al-Najma. Al-Fateh, Al-Nassr, NEOM and Al-Watano each won by a single goal, while Al-Wehda and Al-Ansar finished level without scoring.

The 3-3 draw between Al-Hilal and Al-Jabalain stood apart from the defensive pattern seen in several other matches, with both teams taking one point after six goals were scored.