AL-HASA: The pressure was mounting on Al-Khaleej head coach Jose Gomes on Sept. 12. Even after holding defending champions Al-Nassr to a 1-1 draw, the question remained: Would this Al-Khaleej side continue to grow over the season, or was the result a one-off?
Evidently, it was not.
Since the international break that followed the Al-Nassr game, Al-Khaleej have held rivals Al-Ettifaq to a 1-1 draw and claimed their first two wins of the season: a 2-0 win over Al-Fayha and a memorable 3-2 comeback against Al-Fateh on Sunday.
After going 2-0 down and seemingly defeated, Musa Barrow pulled one back for Al-Khaleej in the 77th minute, before Joshua King equalized in the 83rd and Omar Mascarell delivered the winner in the third minute of stoppage time.
“Over the international break, we worked on ourselves a lot from a physical perspective,” Gomes told Arab News after the victory. “We tried to become stronger in our offensive actions, because even though we were organized defensively against Al-Nassr, we did not create too many chances.”
“Congratulations to the Saudi Pro League because we just watched a fantastic game,” he added.
For Al-Fateh head coach Djamel Sellami, who has only been in charge since the end of the international break, the defeat was disheartening. The former Jordan national team head coach started his stint with a 4-0 defeat to Al-Ahli before a late 3-2 win against Al-Hazem, a result that came in a manner similar to their defeat against Al-Khaleej.
“We could have had a third goal, and it would have been a different game,” he told reporters. “What happened to us, though, was what happened against Al-Hazem when we beat them on Thursday. We conceded a late goal in a game where we could have had at least a point.”
“Overall, it was a disappointing result in spite of the efforts put in by our players.”
One of those players was Moroccan signing Hossam Essadak, who excelled on his full debut before being taken off in the 81st minute after Al-Khaleej’s first goal.
“We brought Essadak on in our last game as a replacement for Zaydou Youssouf, as a player who helps move the midfield with his passing and excels in defensive duels,” Sellami told Arab News. “He had a good performance, and I think he will produce better, but I believe our issue remained in the midfield balance.”
King spoke to the media after the match and was filled with excitement after a start to the season that saw him play just three games before getting injured against Abha on Aug. 25. He has since scored in every game since the return of league football.
“The program is so hectic, and we do not have the squad numbers of the big six clubs — it is no secret,” he told Arab News. “But not everyone can play 90 minutes of every game, and we are ready to help the team when needed,” he said in response to coming on in the second half.
“When I scored, I knew we were going to win. I didn’t know we would win the way we did, with Omar Mascarell’s probable goal of the season, but it was amazing,” he added.
“Let us enjoy our victory now, and then we focus on Al-Ahli,” said King. “To go there and play is not easy, but those are the games you play football for.”