Three-goal Al-Ittihad make winning Kings Cup start against Al-Najma

Al-Ittihad began their King’s Cup campaign with a convincing 3-0 victory over Al-Najma on Tuesday, securing a place in the last 16 after a strong performance in which they controlled the contest and finished their chances effectively.

George Ilenikhena gave Al-Ittihad the lead in the 16th minute, making the most of a through ball from Ahmed Al-Ghamdi. The forward opened up his body before guiding a left-footed shot into the top corner of the Al-Najma goal.

Al-Najma attempted to respond and tested Al-Ittihad with a number of efforts, but goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic dealt with their attempts. Al-Ittihad were also forced into an early change when Jan-Carlo Simic went off injured in the 27th minute, with Ahmed Al-Jlaydan taking his place.

Ilenikhena doubled Al-Ittihad’s advantage 11 minutes before half-time. His low effort from outside the penalty area travelled into the bottom-right corner, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead at the interval.

The Saudi Arabia side extended their advantage six minutes after the restart. Danilo Pereira converted a cross from Muath Faqihi with a close-range header after Al-Ittihad won a corner, leaving Al-Najma with a substantial deficit to overcome.

Ahmed Al-Ghamdi appeared to have added a fourth goal in the 58th minute, but the effort was ruled out following a review by the video assistant referee. The decision meant Al-Ittihad’s lead remained at three goals.

Al-Najma came close to reducing the deficit in the 79th minute when Joao Novais struck the post. Rajkovic was then called upon again to deny another attempt, this time from Ahmed Al-Badakh.

Al-Ittihad kept Al-Najma at bay for the remainder of the match and saw out the result without conceding. The 3-0 win confirmed their progress to the last 16 of the King’s Cup and gave them a positive start to their campaign in the competition.

Ilenikhena’s two goals provided the decisive contribution, while Al-Ittihad’s defence and Rajkovic ensured Al-Najma were unable to turn their periods of pressure into goals. Pereira’s second-half header completed the scoring and capped an assured display from Al-Ittihad.

The result was settled by three different phases of the match: Ilenikhena’s early finish established control, his second before half-time strengthened it, and Pereira’s header shortly after the break effectively ended Al-Najma’s hopes of recovering. Despite the disallowed goal and Al-Najma’s late opportunities, Al-Ittihad maintained their advantage until the final whistle.