Dubai: Last minute goals were the order of the day as Al Jazira and Al Ahli scampered away with full points against Hatta and Sharjah in eleventh round action of the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) on Friday.
Ali Mabkhout took his individual goals tally to 15 with a 90th minute conversion to help Al Jazira reclaim their top perch in the league, while visiting Al Ahli had to rely on an opportunistic last-gasp strike from Saeed Jasem to help his team into third spot ahead of Al Ain.
Needing all three points at home, Al Jazira found the going tough against a gutsy Hatta. But it was Mabkhout who once came to the rescue of the Pride of Abu Dhabi with a late strike.
With the framework denying Al Ahli on two occasions early in the match, the best opportunity came in the path of Sharjah when they were awarded a penalty after substitute Mohammad Sabeel pulled down Venezuelan Gelmin Javier Rivas in the 65th minute. However, Sharjah skipper Adrian Mierzejewski, who took responsility for the kick, only managed to meekly land the ball into the grateful hands of Al Ahli goalkeeper Majid Nasser.
Just when it looked as though the match would end goalless, Jasem intervened on a goalward bound daisycutter from Khamis Esmail — and placed it past the outstretched arms of Mohammad Yousuf in the home goal.
The victory saw Al Jazira reclaim their position at the top with 26 points, two clear of overnight leaders Al Wasl who had gone to the summit following their 8-0 thrashing of Dibba late on Thursday. And defending champions Al Ahli continued keeping pace with the top two while slipping into third place with 21 points. The standings, however, were bound to change with Al Wahda facing Al Ain later on Friday.
RESULTS
Sharjah v Al Ahli 0-1
Al Jazira v Hatta 1-0
