Rising from the grind: Carrasco fuels Shabab’s resilience with a hard-earned draw

Shabab continued their mixed run in the Saudi Pro League with a hard-fought 1-1 draw away to Al Ahli on Friday, in Week 5 of the competition.

Despite playing with ten men from the 77th minute after defender Mohammed Al-Shweikh was sent off, they managed to secure a valuable point.

Al Ahli opened the scoring early through English forward Ivan Tony from a penalty in the 15th minute, while Shabab leveled in the 87th minute when Belgian defender Matteo Dams inadvertently diverted a cross into his own net, denying the home side a win and keeping the race for second place tight behind Al-Nassr.

As a result, Al Ahli rose to 9 points in fifth, while Shabab moved to five points in 12th, continuing a fluctuating campaign for both clubs.

Carrasco: A draw is a win under the circumstances

Shabab captain Yannick Carrasco spoke after the match, saying he was reasonably pleased with the point given the flow of the game and the squad’s conditions.

Hoedt: The result is fair, but the penalty call is debatable

The Dutch defender Wesl ey Hoedt noted that the draw felt fair and expressed reservations about the penalty decision, highlighting the team’s unity despite going a man down.

Alguesiel: Five points after five rounds isn’t enough, but the project goes on

Head coach Emmanuel Alguasiel stressed that while five points from five games are not enough, the team is building with a young squad and an ongoing project that will improve as players gel together.