Al-Ittihad secured a precious victory over their rival Al-Qadsiah with a clean sheet goal in the match that brought them together in the Saudi League for the 2026/2027 season.
The Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Stadium hosted the confrontation between Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ittihad within the competitions of the second round of the Saudi Professional League (Roshn League) for the 2026-2027 season.
Al-Ittihad defeats Al-Qadsiah with a clean goal
Al-Ittihad's lineup for the match included: "Rajković - Fares Abdi - Hassan Kadesh - Carlo Simić - Stefan Keller - Deon Lopy - Rakan Al-Kaabi - Hussam Aouar - Steven Bergwijn - Youssef En-Nesyri - George Ilinikna".
Meanwhile, Al-Qadsiah's lineup included: "Al-Kassar - Abu Al-Shamat - Nacho - Jehad - Gastón - Veigl - Al-Juwayr - Otávio - Ponzo - Retegui - Quinones".
Al-Qadsiah scored the first goal against Al-Ittihad during the 24th minute through Mexican striker Julián Quiñones, but after reviewing the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the referee decided to disallow the goal due to the player being caught offside.
George Ilinikna succeeded in scoring the first goal for Al-Ittihad into Al-Qadsiah's net during stoppage time of the first half (45+1), after receiving a grounded corner kick followed by a rocket shot from the edge of the penalty area, leaving the Knights' goalkeeper only able to watch it.
The referee issued a red card to Al-Ittihad player Deon Lopy following his violent tackle on an Al-Qadsiah player in the 47th minute, causing Al-Adlah (The Dean) to complete the match against the Knights with only 10 players.
Throughout the minutes following Al-Ittihad's player dismissal, Al-Qadsiah largely imposed its dominance on The Dean's defenses, while the latter managed to hold firm defensively until the final whistle, amidst the brilliance of Serbian goalkeeper Rajković.
With this victory, Al-Ittihad raised their tally to 4 points, occupying fourth place in the Saudi League standings, while Al-Qadsiah's tally remained frozen at 3 points, placing them eighth in the rankings table.
