Al-Ittihad dropped more points in pursuit of a top-three finish in the Saudi Pro League as Abdulaziz Al Dhuwayhi netted an 84th-minute equaliser to earn Al-Hazem a 1-1 draw.
Roger Fernandes thought he had won it for Sergio Conceicao's side just four minutes earlier, only for Al Dhuwayhi to seal a share of the spoils at Ar-Rass Stadium on Tuesday.
Al-Hazem raced out of the blocks and saw Youssouf Oumarou force Predrag Rajkovic into two early stops, before Ahmed Al Nakhli fired wide of the mark.
It took until the 47th minute for Al-Ittihad to register their first shot on target, but Al-Hazem captain Ibrahim Zaied was equal to Steven Bergwijn and Moussa Diaby's attempts.
But with 10 minutes of the match remaining, Fernandes quickly shifted the ball onto his left foot from just outside the box and arrowed a stunning effort into the top-right corner.
However, no sooner had they taken the lead, Al-Ittihad were pegged back when Al Dhuwayhi tucked the ball home, but the visitors still had a chance to win it in the closing stages.
Fabinho's searching ball from deep picked out the run of Bergwijn, who took the ball on his chest and volleyed towards goal, only to see his attempt ripple the side netting.
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Data Debrief: Al-Ittihad struggle away from home again
Al-Ittihad's Pro League title defence is all but over, with this result leaving them 17 points behind leaders Al-Ahli, and it proved to be another away day to forget here.
Indeed, Al-Ittihad have now failed to win in each of their last six away Pro League matches (D4 L2), going that many games on the road without a win in the league for the first time since between February and November 2018 (eight, D1 L7).
And they were perhaps fortunate to even take a point from this match, given they registered an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.75 from their 10 shots, only three of which were on target, compared to Al-Hazem's 1.07 from 13 attempts.
For Al-Hazem, however, they pulled further clear of the relegation zone and have now won 15 points from losing positions in the Pro League this season, with only Al Hilal (20) recovering more.