Al Qadsiah sink Gerrard's Al Ettifaq in Eastern Derby | OneFootball

Al Qadsiah marked the first Eastern Derby since 2021 with a convincing 2-0 win against Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq thanks to goals from Julian Quinones and Gaston Alvarez at Al Ettifaq Club Stadium, in the conclusion of the inaugural Roshn Saudi League Derby Week on Saturday.

With his side languishing in 10th place, only four points above the relegation zone and without a victory since Matchweek 3, Gerrard opted for a conservative 5-3-2 formation, hoping to keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Co at bay.

Al Ettifaq’s hopes of a clean sheet were, however, dashed within 12 minutes, when Nahitan Nandez pounced on a poor headed clearance to strike from the edge of the hosts' penalty area. The Uruguayan's shot found its way to left-back Gaston Alvarez, who controlled the ball and finished into the net. Initial offside doubts were cleared after a VAR check and Al Qadsiah had secured an important early lead.

Yet the home side soon had a golden double chance to restore parity just before the half-hour mark. First, Karl Toko Ekambi picked up Alvaro Medran’s through pass and fired from a tight angle, only to be denied by Al Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels. The Belgian international was then alert enough to make a second save from Radhi Al Otaibi.

Casteels continued the form that saw him keep a season-best four clean sheets so far; this time, he needed a bit of luck when Medran’s curled effort took a huge deflection, leaving the Al Qadsiah No.1 stranded. However, fortunately for him, the ball struck the upright. However, there was no luck involved when the 32-year-old quickly made a heroic diving save to block Moussa Dembele’s rebound from close range.

Just as the first half looked headed to close at 1-0 for the visitors, Al Qadsiah added a second goal through Quinones. The Mexican snuck behind defender Abdullah Madu and latched onto Mohammed Abu Al Shamat’s perfect delivery from the right, expertly finishing past goalkeeper Marek Rodak to double his side's advantage.

Despite their best efforts, Al Ettifaq were unable to break the visitors’ defence and succumbed to a fourth defeat in their past six games to slip to 11th in the table. In contrast, Al Qadsiah’s victory takes them to fifth, two points behind Al Shabab in fourth and three behind third-placed Al Nassr.