Ittihad Kalba came from behind twice to earn a valuable point in a 2-2 home draw against Al Nasr in Matchweek 21 of the ADNOC Pro League on Friday.
A cagey first half with chances few and far between ended goalless, but the game erupted into life after the restart, raining goals at both ends.
It took 70 minutes and some incredible footwork from Sebastian Tagliabue for the first goal of the night to arrive as the veteran advanced into the box, and with three defenders surrounding him, managed to produce a fine through pass for the onrushing Diaa Saba who controlled and found the bottom corner with a composed finish to put Al Nasr in front.
The Blues’ joy was cut short after Ahmed Jashk was brought down inside the box four minutes later prompting the referee to point to the spot and Togolese forward Peniel Mlapa hammered the resulting penalty kick into the roof of the net for the equaliser.
With eight minutes to go on the clock, Ittihad Kalba defender Abdulaziz Hamad was penalised for a handball inside the box and Portuguese midfielder Toze stepped up to fire home from the spot for 2-1.
Hamad was determined to make amends and he did so in style in the 88th minute, pouncing on a loose clearance 35 yards out to rifle home a valuable equaliser to atone for his earlier error.
The result means Ittihad Kalba are in tenth place with 24 points while Al Nasr remain two points and two places ahead of them.
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