Luis Jiminez's stunning 97th minute volley rescued Al Ahli a vital 2-2 draw at Al Dhafra's Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Stadium.
It was a frustrating night for Cosmin Olaroiu and his AGL champions whose stuttering start to the season continues but they will be delighted to come away from the game with something, having proven that valuable trait of a championship winning side; picking up points when you haven't been close to your best.
The draw is harsh on Dhafra who battled valiantly to secure their first win of the season only to be denied with just seconds to play.
Ahli were poor in the first-half and were unable to recreate the form they showed last week when they convincingly beat Al Jazira 4-2.
Dhafra took the lead in the 19th minute, Ali Ibrahim losing Abdelaziz Haikal to meet Makhete Diop’s cross from the right wing and head home from six yards.
Things got worse for Ahli and Haikal in first-half stoppage time when the centre-back needlessly handled in the Ahli penalty area under pressure from Youssef Kaddioui Idrissi.
Diop duly stepped up to slot home his third goal of the season.
Carlos Munoz pulled one back for the visitors eight minutes from time after Luis Jimenez superbly dummied Grafite’s pass into his path.
It looked like Ahli would head home without a point until Jimenez's stunning effort from 20-yards in the dying moments of the match.
Haikal’s withdrawal at half-time was unsurprising and both he and Ahli will need to improve quickly if they are to retain their title.
Elsewhere, Al Jazira responded to their 4-2 loss to Ahli last time out to beat in-form Al Nasr 3-2.
Ali Mabkhout scored twice in the first-half, either side of Tariq Ahmed’s equaliser for Nasr, before Manuel Lanzini’s effort five minutes after the break sealed the victory for Eric Gerets’ men.
Substitute Ivan Trickovskki managed to pull one back with a minute left but it proved nothing but a consolation.
Nasr had been on a three match unbeaten run, including wins from each of their last two AGL games but have been leapfrogged by Jazira who now jump into second place.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi are now just two points behind leaders Al Wahda who drew 3-3 with Ajman earlier on Thursday.
