Al Dhafra produced a stirring second-half comeback to overturn an early deficit and claim a 3-1 victory over Al Bataeh in matchweek five of the ADNOC Pro League on Friday.
It had looked like a comfortable evening ahead for the visitors when Álvaro De Oliveira struck just five minutes in, meeting Gianluca Muniz’s pinpoint cross with a precise header at the near post.
The early breakthrough allowed Al Bataeh to settle quickly and dictate the tempo, while Al Dhafra struggled to find rhythm in the opening exchanges.
The home side, however, grew into the contest and might have levelled before the break.
Johann Gudmundsson’s curling strike from the edge of the box was destined for the top corner, only for goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Balooshi to pull off a stunning save.
Moments later, the Al Dhafra shot-stopper was at it again, reacting superbly to deny Khalil Ibrahim from close range three minutes after the restart.
Those interventions proved decisive, keeping Al Dhafra in the contest before Karim El Berkaoui took centre stage.
The Moroccan forward restored parity just after the hour, darting to the near post to turn in Khalil Ibrahim’s inch-perfect cross.
Barely two minutes later, he completed the turnaround, racing onto Mohammed Elkhaloui’s clever through ball and sliding a composed low finish into the bottom corner.
Elkhaloui then capped the night six minutes from time, racing onto a long through ball, skipping past the advancing goalkeeper and slotting calmly into the empty net to seal a memorable victory and ignite wild celebrations among the Al Dhafra faithful.
The result lifts Al Dhafra into sixth place on nine points, while Al Bataeh remain in 12th with just three points.
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