Milad Meydavoudi's dramatic injury-time winner, in a 3-2 win over Al Khaleej in Khor Fakkan last night, moved Al Ahli a step closer towards the Pro League title. With five games left, Ahli lead the table while Khaleej are rooted to the bottom on 11 points and are destined for relegation. Goals from Mohammed Fawzi, a fortuitous lob from 30 yards on three minutes, and Yousuf Jaber, a 30th-minute penalty, put Ahli 2-0 up and it looked like it would be plain sailing for Ivan Hasek's men.
But Khaleej fought back. Goals either side of half-time from Abbas Moya and Mohammed Malallah levelled things up. Khalid Mohammed's poorly-timed tackle brought Malallah down in the 39th minute. The prolific Moya converted with an assured finish from the spot. Malallah then restored parity two minutes into the second half with a sharp header. Missing a number of their regulars through injury or suspension, Ahli were in danger of giving Al Jazira, who played Sharjah in last night's late game, the chance to draw within a point of them at the top of the table. But, after Ahli piled on the pressure, Meydavoudi came to the rescue, collecting a through ball and finishing from inside the box.
In the night's other games, Al Wahda beat Al Dhafra 3-2 and Al Nasr drew 2-2 with Al Shabab. Today, Winfried Schaefer's Al Ain travel to Ajman looking to get their Pro League title ambitions back on track after completing the cup double. Schaefer, who is desperate to win a historic treble, will not settle for anything less than three points from tonight's game. The German said: "We must win to keep our league hopes alive. It may seem an easy proposition on paper but teams like Ajman at home are never easy. "
sports@thenational.ae Ajman v Al Ain, Abu Dhabi Sports 1, KO 8.30pm