WATCH | Al-Ahli fans rejoice as Pitso Mosimane’s team go top of Yelo League

Al-Ahli Saudi's management and supporters are gaining faith they made the right choice of new coach in Pitso Mosimane as the club have taken top spot in the Saudi Arabian first division four months after the South African arrived.

Al-Ahli, a top three club in the country who suffered a shock relegation in 2021-22, are on course for promotion from the second-tier Yelo League after a 3-0 home win on Tuesday night against Al Jabalain took them to first place.

The win sparked celebrations in Ahli's packed 25,000-seat Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.

Mosimane joined Ahli in late September with the team labouring in seventh place after five matches. For the Jeddah giants, such a placing was untenable as they aimed to bounce back from the first division immediately.

Four months later Ahli are top of the log, their plans for promotion back on track, justifying the label the coach was given by his team at the time of his appointment as “the turnaround strategist”.

Mosimane is yet to suffer a defeat at his new team. In his first seven matches, acclimatising to a new league, he steered Ahli to three wins and four draws.

They have gained momentum, winning four of their last five games and drawing one.

Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Mosimane left Egyptian giants Al Ahly, where he won five trophies including back-to-back Caf Champions League titles, in June 2022.

Al-Ahli were one of the most competitive teams in the Saudi Pro League — with three league titles since being ever-present as founding members in the national league since its inception in 1976-77 — before their shock first relegation as 15th-placed finishers last season.

Ahli have 34 points from 17 games, level with Al Faisaly but with a superior goal difference.

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