Al Taawoun’s Hard-Fought Win Over Al Shabab Keeps Hopes of Finishing Fourth Alive

With the title already decided, all eyes are on the continental football qualification slots and the relegation battle. Al Taawoun grinded out a 1-0 victory against Al Shabab to keep them on track to finish fourth and qualify for the AFC Champions League Two.

Al Shabab was dominant on the ball, recording a 64.2% possession against the hosts. However, they failed to take advantage of their dominance and were not clinical enough.

In the 50th minute, Carlos Junior handled the ball inside his own penalty box leading to a penalty awarded to Al Taawoun. Joao Pedro stepped up to take it and made no mistakes. It was 1-0 in favor of the hosts, who did not see much of the ball all game. This was his 11th goal of the season, and it was a significant one.

Al Shabab did not lie back after conceding and upped their tempo in search of an equalizer. Al Juwayr came close, shooting from long range, but Mailson neutered the danger. Iago Santos was up next, and he could have scored against his former club, but his header was off-target.

Vitinho came closest with a shot from outside the box, but Mailson was feeling himself on the day and pulled off a one-handed save to keep it at 1-0.

With a goal up, Al Taawoun read the game and opted to take a pragmatic approach and play a low block, only attacking on the counter. Al Shabab pressured for an equalizer up to the last minute but Al Taawoun’s defensive efforts paid off.

With this result, Al Taawoun only needs two points for their two remaining matches to secure a fourth-place finish and qualify for next season’s AFC Champions League Two.