Yet another match has failed to attract a crowd above 500. Late drama saw Al-Fayha secure a dramatic 2-2 draw away to Al-Wehda on Thursday when ex- forward Fashion Sakala converted a 104th-minute penalty. The only problem was there were only 465 people in attendance to bear witness to the nerve-defying moment.
And that's assuming every fan in attendance for the midweek matchup stayed to the end of proceedings. may have beefed up its roster of elite football talent in recent years, but the nation's top flight stands as proof that just because you build the product, it doesn't mean the people will come. Former frontman Odion Ighalo thought he'd clinched a home win at King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in the 82nd minute.
Al-Wehda took just four minutes to go in front after youngster Meshal Al-Alaeli found the back of the net in the forth minute. It was more than an hour later that another graduate, ex- midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo, levelled the score. But Ighalo's intervention ensured parity lasted only a matter of minutes.
The four-goal spectacle was perhaps deserving of more fanfare inside the stadium as two teams hovering above the relegation zone battled it out. As it was, however, only a faint din of cheers greeted Sakala's heroics deep into injury time. Al-Fayha and Al-Wehda remain level on points as a result and are still tightly locked together in 12th and 13th place, respectively.
Only four teams in the Pro League have tallied more than Al-Wehda's eight goals so far th.