Kalba staged a dramatic comeback from two goals down to beat nine-man Khorfakkan 4-2 in matchweek five of the ADNOC Pro League.
Khorfakkan threatened early, almost breaking the deadlock inside six minutes when Tarik Tissoudali surged down the left, skipped past two defenders and curled a strike goalwards, only for Sultan Al Manthari to parry away smartly.
The hosts were dealt a setback on 19 minutes as Ahmed Abdalla Mohamad was sent off for a reckless challenge on Yaser Alblooshi, leaving Khorfakkan down to ten men.
Kalba responded with their first clear chance in the 23rd minute, Shahriyar Moghanloo rising highest to meet a cross, but his header rattled the post.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Khorfakkan struck first. On 32 minutes, Aylton Filipe delivered a superb cross that Lourency Do met with a perfectly timed run and a clinical finish.
Khorfakkan doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time. Following a VAR review, Miha Blazic was penalised for handball, and Tarik Tissoudali calmly sent Al Manthari the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 at the break.
Kalba emerged a different side after the restart.
Ahmad Noorollah’s long-range rocket in the 51st minute forced Ahmed Alhosani into a superb stop, but the margin was reduced four minutes later.
Baba dazzled his way into the box before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the top corner to halve the deficit.
Khorfakkan’s evening worsened when Lourency Do received a red card on 61 minutes, reducing the hosts to nine men.
Kalba took full advantage, levelling the game in the 74th minute when Moghanloo powered a header from Ahmed Shehda Abunamous’ cross.
Four minutes later, Alhosani denied Leandro Spadacio with a fine save, but the momentum was firmly with Kalba.
Their turnaround was complete in the 86th minute, as Abunamous unleashed a sublime strike from distance into the top corner to put his side ahead for the first time.
Nemanja Jovic sealed the points in the 89th minute, following up on his initial effort to slot home the rebound and cap a thrilling 4-2 victory.
The result lifts Kalba into third place on 10 points, while Khorfakkan remain in 11th with four.
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