Pitso Mosimane’s Abha Club suffered a heartbreak on the final day of the Saudi Pro League, losing to bottom-placed Al Hazem to seal their relegation.
After moving out of the relegation zone on Friday, Abha had their fate in their own hands and only needed another win against already-relegated Al Hazem.
The match was evenly poised in the first half, with Abha failing to really threaten the opposition goal.
However, with relegation rivals Al-Okhdood leading at half-time, Mosimane and his team also needed the three points to stay ahead of them.
The South African tactician reacted by bringing on Ahmed Abdoh Jaber and just two minutes into the second half, Mosimane’s joker scored the opener.
But the lead was short-lived as Al Hazem equalised via Muhammed Badammosi in the 58th minute.
Things got from bad to worse for Mosimane and Abha when Mohammed Al-Thain put Al Hazem 2-1 up after 80 minutes to put the final nail in their coffin.
There was drama in injury-time as Abha first had Marcel Tisserand sent off after VAR review before Grzegorz Krychowiak missed a late penalty. But even a draw wouldn’t have been enough, as Abha have the worst goal difference in the league.
It was only Al Hazem’s fourth win of the season, while the defeat saw Abha finish the campaign on 32 points – just one behind Al-Okhdood who did their bit and collected an important win.
Abha have picked up 18 points in 15 games under Mosimane, while they were just sitting on 14 points after 19 matches before the South African took over.
However, the South African could not complete the miracle and suffered relegation to the Yelo League.
