ABHA (Interstat) — Houssem Aouar scored in the 52nd minute and Faisal Al Subiani answered in the 87th as Abha and Al Ittihad played to a 1-1 draw Friday at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium.

Al Ittihad had the better of the early possession and worked through the first half without conceding, though the match remained tight. The visitors broke through seven minutes after halftime when Aouar finished for the opening goal. The goal came after Al Ittihad had spent much of the first half probing for space, and Aouar’s finish rewarded the visitors for their patience. Aouar was on the field for the full 90 minutes and finished with one goal, giving Al Ittihad a lead that held through much of the second half. Al Ittihad continued to press for a second goal, but Abha’s defense held firm enough to keep the match within reach.

Abha pushed numbers forward as the match wore on and got its reward late. Al Subiani, who played 13 minutes, scored in the 87th minute to level the match and deny Al Ittihad a road victory. The goal changed the closing stages and forced Al Ittihad to settle for a draw after having led for much of the second half. Al Subiani’s goal arrived at a point when Abha had committed more players forward, and it gave the home side a share of the points after a late push.

Discipline was a major theme for Abha. Rosier L. received a yellow card in the 25th minute, Al Dawsari M. was booked in the 49th, Boumedmed K. in the 90th-plus-3 and Al Daajani N. in the 90th-plus-4. The cards added to the pressure on the home side as it chased an equalizer and then protected the draw. The bookings disrupted Abha’s rhythm and forced the home side to manage the final minutes carefully while still seeking an equalizer. Abha finished the match with four players in the referee’s book, while Al Ittihad avoided a yellow card.

Both teams used substitutions to adjust. Al Ittihad made an early change in the eighth minute involving Rios R. Abha made a substitution in the 57th minute involving Darisi A., two more in the 68th involving Al Qahtani K. and Al Ghamdi F., and another in the 77th involving Rosier L. Al Ittihad made two changes in the 71st minute involving En Nesyri Y. and Bergwijn S., and one more in the 89th involving Abdi F. The late adjustments helped shape a frantic finish after Al Subiani’s goal, with both sides making changes in an effort to influence the final minutes.

Al Ittihad entered the match with recent wins over Neftchi Fargona, Al Diriyah and Al Ettifaq, along with losses to Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai and Al Hilal. Abha had lost to NEOM SC, Al-Qadsiah and Al-Faisaly. The draw left Al Ittihad with two wins, one loss and one draw in the competition and three wins, two losses and one draw across all competitions. Abha remained winless in the competition with three losses and one draw and is also winless across all competitions with three losses and one draw. Abha continued to search for its first win of the season, while Al Ittihad missed a chance to add another victory to its recent run.

The result came after Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Abha 2, Al Ittihad 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Abha with an 83.3 percent probability to win. Al Ittihad had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.25. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 3.