Al Jazira and Baniyas held to draws as Arabian Gulf League title fight goes down to the wire

An Ali Mabkhout penalty in Ajman rescues a point for Jazira, while Baniyas play out stalemate with Shabab Al Ahli

Ajman’s Malian forward Madibo Maiga, left, scored twice against Al Jazira to help his side claim a 3-3 draw. Courtesy Arabian Gulf League

The battle for the Arabian Gulf League title remains wide open with two games remaining after leaders Al Jazira and second-placed Baniyas were both held to draws on Monday night.

Ali Mabkhout, the AGL's leading scorer this season, grabbed his 23rd goal of the campaign with a penalty 11 minutes from time to earn Jazira a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Ajman.

Baniyas had the chance to leapfrog their title rivals but played out a goalless draw with Shabab Al Ahli, ensuring the gap at the top stays at just one point.

Jazira twice led at the Rashid bin Saeed stadium, first through Imoh Ezekiel's ninth-minute finish, then when Brandley Mack-Olien Kuwas scored just after the half hour mark. However, goals from Madibo Maiga - the first in the 26th minute, the second just after half time - levelled proceedings.

Ajman then took the lead in the 64th minute through Luiz Antonio Soares, before Mabkhout held his nerve to slot home from the penalty spot.

Brandley Kuwas, Jazira’s Dutch midfielder, felt his team missed an opportunity to stretch their advantage over Baniyas.

“I think we did our best and with a little more luck we could have won the three points,” he said.

“We started well and led 2-1 at half time. Ajman came back strong after the break, but at the end, we did well to return with a point. It keeps us in the lead which we now need to maintain from our last two games.”

The result took Jazira’s tally to 51 points, while Ajman moved to 12th spot, one point ahead of Fujairah.

Elsewhere, third-placed Sharjah crushed Hatta 3-0, while Al Nasr, in fourth, edged out Al Dhafra 3-2 as both sides moved on to 45 points.

Sharjah broke the deadlock with a close range effort from Salem Saleh on the hour before Khalid Bawazir and Antonio Junior also got on the scoresheet for the defending champions.

Sebastian Tagliabue’s stoppage-time strike helped Nasr clinch a 3-2 victory over Dhafra.

Portuguese forward Toze found the net twice to give Nasr a 2-0 lead at the break but Dhafra made a remarkable comeback to level the scores. They narrowed the deficit in the 74th minute through Makhete Diop’s header and five minutes later, Mohamed Al Jneibi fired home from inside the box.

As the game looked to be heading for a draw, Nasr were awarded a penalty and Dhafra's Issam El Adoua was sent off for a handball. Tagliabue stepped forward to fire the winner deep into injury time.