Al Dhafra cemented their place away from the relegation zone with an emphatic 3-0 win over Ajman at Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium in matchweek 20 of the ADNOC Pro League on Monday.
The visitors thought they had taken the lead halfway through the opening period when Mohammed Helal sent an intelligent chipped pass for Isam Shaitit who was left with plenty of space inside the box to finish, but the Moroccan youngster was denied by a heroic save from goalkeeper Abdulla Al Nasri.
Instead, it was Al Dhafra who opened the scoring nine minutes before the break.
Guilherme Augusto whipped in a cross from a set piece on the right flank and amid defensive chaos, Bilal Yousif inadvertently converted the ball into the back of his own net; the third time Ajman have conceded an own goal this term.
With little in way of scoring chances at either end, the game looked destined to end with that one-goal difference, but a late foray by the home side saw them hit a quick double salvo in the last seven minutes.
Lucas Candido muscled off two opponents near the touchline and sent a sublime defence-splitting pass for Waleed Ambar who kept his cool and applied the finishing touch in the 83rd minute.
Candido turned from provider to scorer three minutes later, pouncing on a poor clearance following another Augusto setpiece to control and rifle from the arch of the area into the bottom corner to round off the scoring.
The victory means Al Dhafra remain 11th but are now eight points clear of the relegation zone with six games to go, while a third consecutive defeat for the Oranges leaves them eighth with 25 points.
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