Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard expressed his disappointment after his side lost to Al-Fateh on Thursday evening.
The Dammam giants suffered their second defeat of the season losing 2-1 to Al-Fateh in the Saudi Pro League’s ninth round.
Former Lyon centre-forward Moussa Dembele gave Al-Ettifaq the lead in the second half before the game took a huge turn in the final minutes.
Al-Fateh grabbed the equaliser against the run of play in the 85th minute before Cape Verde international Djaniny scored a smash-and-grab winner in stoppage time.
Speaking after the game, Gerrard rued his side’s missed chances before conceding and believes they needed more stability to get points out of the game.
“We are disappointed with the result,” Gerrard said in the press conference via the club’s official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Specifically the final 10 or 15 minutes of the game, because before we did very well, we dominated, controlled the rhythm, and had the required patience.
“The players have everything and played well, especially the first 85 minutes. The game saw many chances, a chance against the bar, and Marcel’s header.
“We were close to taking a two or three-goal lead. Lack of experience was evident at the end, we couldn’t manage in the final minutes,” he added.
The result meant that Al-Ettifaq have dropped to sixth place in the Saudi Pro League table with 17 points after nine games.
They will be hoping to get back on track when they travel to face Al-Riyadh following the international break on October 22nd.