Fight for top between fierce rivals Al Ain and Al Ahli just what the Arabian Gulf League needs

First Ismail Ahmed, then Moussa Sow.

Two late, late goals, separated by little more than 24 hours, combining to ensure a bona fide Arabian Gulf League title race rumbles on.

On Friday, Ahmed struck right at the death for Al Ain, the defending champions and reigning league leaders, his outstretched leg meeting a loose ball in the home penalty area at Dibba’s Fujairah Stadium and prodding it high into the goal.

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Al Ain had grabbed a crucial 1-0 victory, extending their advantage at the summit to five points.

Then on Saturday, with coach Cosmin Olaroiu banished to the stands and time fast running out at Sharjah, Sow headed home Ciel's injury-time cross to hand Al Ahli a single-goal win all of their own.

With it, the division’s second-placed club clawed back the gap at the top to two.

Two points’ difference, bloated then reinstated by those two late, late goals, combining to accentuate the rivalry between UAE football’s two fiercest foes.

Eight rounds remain in this teetering 2015/16 season. Eight rounds sprawled across the ensuing three months. Eight rounds with the President’s Cup, the Asian Champions League and the Arabian Gulf Cup final betwixt and between, diverting focus, sapping vigour.

For the first time in years, the AGL promises a proper and prolonged battle for its prize possession.

Al Ain and Ahli: the country’s two best sides out in front, joined by commensurate talent and separated from the pack. The league’s most rigid defence against its most potent attack. An enmity that has morphed and mutated these past few seasons, sometimes stretching beyond the savoury, gains even more momentum from now until the campaign’s conclusion on May 8, sure to twist and to turn, sure to hinge on the two clubs’ clash at the Rashid Stadium four rounds from its close.

It has been some time since the AGL has provided a genuine title race. In the past five seasons, the champions were crowned with a minimum three matches to spare, the final tally between winners and runners-up ranging from nine points to 16.

Not since Ahli clinched the title in 2009, when they routed Al Shabab 3-1 at the Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium to complete the inaugural Pro League, has the fight for the championship sustained until the concluding matchday.

This season seems different, feels infinitely more competitive between the two lead teams, even though at this stage last year Al Jazira appeared legitimate contenders, too, alongside Al Ain. Defeated 2-1 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in early March, the capital club never really recovered, and from there Al Ain’s third league crown in four years became a formality.

Now, both Al Ain and Ahli have the flair, the fortitude and the focus to push all the way to the finish line. Their direct confrontation almost guarantees it. There should be no lapse in concentration, no easing in commitment as the rounds are swallowed up before them.

While both sides were expected to contest the title, irrespective of the respective personnel changes, that Ahli in particular have reached this point speaks volumes for their single-mindedness and spirit, fostered undeniably by the indefatigable Olaroiu, a one-man, title-hoarding, wrecking-ball of a manager.

Ahli’s run to the 2015 Asian Champions League final, itself built upon remarkable displays of resolve, packed tight the club’s schedule, a programme that at one time swelled with nine matches in 34 days.

Furthermore, it was hindered by Rodrigo Lima’s season-ending injury.

To their credit, Ahli have come through, hanging tight to Al Ain’s coattails so that the elite duo approach the closing stretch with everything still to play for.

A protracted title race is not only important for maintaining interest deep into the season, it further validates a league that, despite its obvious advances in recent years, remains relatively early in this era of professionalism.

For once, there is no runaway leader, such as Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Ligue 1, or to a lesser extent, Bayern Munich in Germany’s Bundesliga. There is an obvious, much-needed narrative.

That Al Ain and Ahli, the past five winners, are at its front seems fitting. The run-in is sure to prove fascinating, highlighted by the meeting of the two on April 14, when the destination of the title will veer towards Dubai or the Garden City.

It should be a seminal moment in what is finally an inescapable contest, much like those two late, late interventions last weekend, when Ismail Ahmed and Moussa Sow kept the title scrap on script and on course, at last, for a captivating collision.

What caught our eye this week? A look at the best and worst.

1. Best exponent – Ronnie O'Sullivan

Whether or not you agree with what “Rocket Ronnie” did at the Welsh Open on Monday, when he purposely missed out on a maximum 147 break because the £10,000 (Dh52,470) prize money was “too cheap”, he remains snooker box office. O’Sullivan, a five-time world champion, is crucial to the sport, a guaranteed draw that keeps it relative.

2. Best luck – Adam Voges

During the first Test between New Zealand and Australia in Wellington on Friday, Voges was cleaned blowed by Doug Bracewell. He was on seven at the time. However, umpire Richard Illingworth incorrectly called for a no-ball and, reprieve granted, Voges went on to make a match-winning 239. Rather fortunate, but an incredible knock all the same.

3. Worst regression – Aston Villa

A once great club languishes at the bottom of England’s top tier, with Sunday’s 6-0 thrashing at home to Liverpool another endorsement of its recent failings. Villa were the greatest team in Europe in 1982, and have been Premier League stalwarts since its inception. That will not last much longer. Similar-sized clubs have struggled to return.

4. Worst run – Scotland

Last year’s Rugby World Cup suggested Scotland were fast improving, as they narrowly exited the quarter-finals at the hands of Australia, the eventual runners-up. However, Saturday’s 27-23 defeat to Wales stretched their losing streak in the Six Nations to nine matches and 725 days. Hard to fathom, but when will the drought end?

5. Best birthday – Happy Gimore

OK, slightly gratuitous. But cult golf movie Happy Gilmore turned 20 on Tuesday, prompting a slew of clips on social media. The game's real-life talents got in on the act too, with the likes of Rory McIlroy appearing on video quoting lines from the film, and several players recreating Adam Sandler's infamous driving style. Putting, of course, is more "tap, tap, tap it in". ​