Zambia’s Fashion Sakala got his Saudi Pro League campaign off to a fantastic start, helping Al-Fayha to a 3-1 victory over Al Khaleej in their first league match of the season.
Al-Fayha opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Sakala set up Brazilian Ricardo Ryller to put Al Burtuqali ahead.
Sakala found himself unmarked just before halftime and pounced on a through pass from Gojko Cimirot to dribble past the goalkeeper and slot home his first goal in an empty net.
The Chipolopolo forward did not slow down as his team came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, but Khaleej showed some resistance as they defended too deep.
However, Al-Fayha’s efforts were soon rewarded when Khaleej’s Argentine defender, Lisandro Lopez, committed a foul in the box, which was ruled a penalty by the Vidoe Assistant Referee.
Sultan Mandash made no mistake to put the ball behind the net and extend the home side’s lead to 3-0.
Hisham Al Dubais scored Khaleej’s consolation goal in the waning minutes of the game, with only two minutes of normal time remaining.
Sakala, who joined Al-Fayha from Rangers five days ago, had a memorable debut in the Saudi Pro League.
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His new team is now second in the log standings with three points after winning their first match.
