After a poor opening third of the season, which left them at the foot of the table and staring down relegation for the first time this century, something had to change at Al Fateh.
They had won once in the Roshn Saudi League, lost nine and conceded 39 goals. It worked out at a rate of 2.3 goals per game.
The output was quite clearly unsustainable for a club that, little more than a decade ago, achieved one of the greatest underdog stories in Saudi Arabian football history by lifting the RSL title.
So, in lieu of issues at the other end of the top flight, change is what the management at Al Fateh instituted.
There was new manager appointed, with Jose Gomes - a veteran of the RSL scene - parachuted in to begin the rescue mission.
There was fresh personnel drafted in in attack, with Argentine Mathias Vargas arriving from a career-best season with China’s Shanghai Port. Understandably, his remit was to help bolster Al Fateh’s attacking stocks that, until that point, had scored only 13 goals in as many games.
And, just as importantly, there was a change in goal. Hungarian international Peter Szappanos returned to his homeland to join his former club Paks on loan, with Saudi international Nawaf Al Aqidi, brought in on a temporary deal from Al Nassr.
The idea, obviously, was to help stiffen a defence that remained on track to rival the worst defensive records in RSL history.
The move was an important one, also, for Al Aqidi. After a difficult 12 months at club and national-team level – he had lost his spot as the Green Falcons No.1 during Roberto Mancini’s tenure – the 24-year-old needed to get back to playing regularly.
It was the only way he could force his way back into the national team following Herve Renard’s return. And, thus far, the decision is paying dividends - for both player and club.
The reinforcements during the RSL winter break have played a principal part in Al Fateh turning around their fortunes somewhat: they have four wins from their past seven in the league.
Thus, they have climbed off the foot of the table and, with eight matches remaining and a game in hand over those around them, are on the verge of breaking free of the relegation zone. Going into Saturday's important test at Al Khaleej, Al Fateh sit 16th but know victory would drag them up a couple of spots.
Al Aqidi has been a key cog to their reversal in form. While he has kept one clean sheet in his 11 matches, it represented only Al Fateh’s second for the season. But that tells merely part of the story.
Importantly, Al Aqidi has provided a sense of calm and stability to the defence, meaning they’ve been able to plug their leaky backline - to an extent.
From conceding 39 goals in 17 RSL games, at a rate of 2.3 per game, Al Fateh been able to tighten that up to concede 11 goals in nine, almost halving their rate of concession to 1.2 per match.
In a short space of time, Al Aqidi is now ranked sixth in the 2024-25 competition for save percentage at 75%, more than the likes of lofty peers in Al Nassr successor Bento, Al Ahli’s Edouard Mendy, Al Fayha’s Orlando Mosquera and Yassine Bono, the reigning RSL Goalkeeper of the Year at Al Hilal.
Importantly, and this points to a reason behind Al Fateh’s ...
