Al Hazm 1-1 Al Shabab result, stats and report

The Story of the Match

Al Hazm will feel hard done by after this one. They were the better side for long stretches at home on Sunday afternoon, created the clearer chances, and were good value for their lead going into the final ten minutes. Then, deep into stoppage time, Al Shabab won a penalty. Afimico Pululu stepped up and dispatched it with his left foot. Final score: 1-1. Football is a cruel game and that is that.

The thing is, Al Hazm did enough to win this. They had 55 per cent of the ball. They registered eleven shots to Al Shabab's eight. They had six shots on target to the visitors' four. They created four big chances and their goalkeeper was barely tested in open play. Al Shabab's equaliser came from the spot in the fifth minute of added time. That is not a comeback. That is a smash and grab.

Martínez Puts Al Hazm Ahead

The decisive moment, or what should have been the decisive moment, came three minutes into the second half. Roger Martínez converted with his right foot, with the assist credited to Yannick Carrasco. It was the kind of goal that should have settled Al Hazm's nerves. They had been the more purposeful side and the goal reflected that.

Martínez was lively throughout. He was eventually withdrawn in the 74th minute, replaced by Ali Al-Asmari. By that point, Al Hazm were managing the game, or at least they thought they were.

Discipline Told Against Al Hazm

Here is where Al Hazm have to look at themselves. You cannot defend a lead when you are handing the referee decisions. Al Hazm finished the match with three yellow cards, one yellow-red card, and a red card on the statistics sheet. That is a disciplined side falling apart under pressure they should not have been feeling.

Yacine Adli was booked in the 54th minute for an argument, minutes after Martínez had put his side in front. That is completely unacceptable. You are one goal up in the second half of a home game. You keep your mouth shut and you get on with it. Dhari Al-Anazi followed with a yellow card for a foul in the 68th minute. Al Hazm were giving Al Shabab a way back into the match with their own sloppiness.

The only Al Shabab booking of note came in the 29th minute, when Abdulrahman Al-Dakheel was carded for a foul. After that, Al Shabab were largely disciplined and waited for their opportunity. It arrived in the very last act of the game.

Al Shabab's Numbers Tell Their Own Story

Listen, Al Shabab did not deserve a point based on what happened on the pitch in open play. They had just two shots inside the box all game. Al Hazm had seven. The visitors managed only one big chance created to Al Hazm's four. Al Hazm missed three big chances, which is a problem in itself, but at least they were getting into positions to score. Al Shabab were living off scraps.

Their recent form going into this fixture reflects exactly that. In their last five completed Saudi Pro League matches before this one, Al Shabab managed one win, two draws, and two defeats. They were shipping goals freely too, conceding nine times in those five outings. A clean sheet record of just 10 per cent across their last ten completed matches tells you everything about how porous they have been at the back. Al Hazm should have put this game to bed long before the 90th minute made it irrelevant.

Al Hazm's Missed Chances Will Haunt Them

Three big chances missed. That is the number that will keep the Al Hazm manager awake this week. You create four big opportunities at home in the Saudi Pro League and you convert one of them, you are rolling the dice. The penalty against you in the 95th minute is the punishment for that wastefulness.

Al Hazm's own form coming into this match was mixed. They had taken two wins, two draws omitted from their five-match window, but in fact their last five showed two wins and three defeats, with seven goals conceded. They are a side capable of hurting teams, as the stats from Sunday show. But they are also a side carrying long-term injury problems. Four players were listed as out with long-term injuries going into this fixture. That kind of squad disruption grinds on a group over time and you see it in moments of carelessness.

The Signals and the Outcome

The under was the clean call here. Two sides with defensive vulnerabilities but also a tendency to be wasteful in front of goal. The match played out almost exactly as that suggested. Two goals, a 1-1 draw, and a large amount of frustration for the home side.

Verdict

Al Hazm were the better team and they leave with nothing extra to show for it. A point is not nothing, but it feels like nothing when you have dominated the match, led it, and then conceded a penalty in added time to a side that had two shots inside the box all afternoon. The basics of game management, keeping your discipline, taking your chances when they arrive, protecting a lead, let Al Hazm down badly here.

Al Shabab will be relieved. A 1-1 draw from a performance that thin is a point stolen rather than earned. They need to compete with far more conviction if they want to amount to anything in this division. One win in their last ten Saudi Pro League matches is not a foundation for anything. End of.