I ended up buying two tickets for this game on account of the weather. Initially I’d intended to sit in the big open stand, but a day of downpours persuaded me to think again, and I bought another one, this time for the covered area in the stand opposite. Tickets are only two quid a pop so it’s not expensive to keep your options open.
There was a slight drizzle as I took the short walk to the Prince Faisal ground and so I veered right instead of left and headed for the covered section.
It was another small crowd of under a thousand, although there was a reasonable turnout amongst the singers in the stand opposite. Al-Shabab, in white, had little to play for whilst visitors Al-Wehda, in red, were just beyond the relegation spots and clearly intent on taking something from the game.
They went ahead after twelve minutes and frequently threatened with their pace when running at the Al-Shabab defence.
The home side had the ball in the net early in the second half, but neither set of players seemed convinced that it would stand. They loitered at the centre circle for three minutes whilst the VAR did his stuff, eventually sending the ref over to the screen to have a look for himself. That meant another two minutes delay whilst he stared at the screen with his head at the angle more commonly seen when a dog watches the telly. As expected, the effort was disallowed.
Al-Shabab had other chances, including one attack that needed a triple point-blank save from the Al-Wehda keeper, but didn’t create anything reflective of the gap between the teams. In the end the single early goal was enough to take the points and put a bit of distance between Al-Wehda and their relegation rivals.
Trail of the Lion King 