Ciel returns to haunt former club as Al Ahli face anxious wait over Arabian Gulf Cup destiny

Ciel scored on his return to the Rashid Stadium to earn Kalba a draw against Al Ahli in the Arabian Gulf Cup. Courtesy AGL

Ciel returned to haunt former club Al Ahli to earn Kalba a draw in the Arabian Gulf Cup on Friday night.

The Brazilian forward, who left Ahli in the summer after two years at the club, scored a late equaliser at the Rashid Staium to salvage a 1-1 draw for the visitors.

His goal means Ahli face an anxious wait to see if they qualify from Group B. The reigning Arabian Gulf League champions currently top the group by a point ahead of Al Shabab and Al Nasr, although if both clubs win their final-round fixtures on December 12, it will see Ahli eliminated.

Saeed Jasim opened the scoring for Ahli after 69 minutes before Ciel headed home to level the score seven minutes from time.

Elsewhere, an injury-time goal from Khalil Ibrahim gave a second-string Al Wahda a 1-0 win over Hatta in Group A, with both teams already unable to progress any further in the tournament.

In last night’s later match, Al Ain were held to a 2-2 draw by Baniyas at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in another game that had no effect in Group B.

Danilo Asprilla had given the hosts the lead after a dull first half and Douglas made it 2-0 on 70 minutes.

However, Baniyas came back through goals from Daniel Hernandez, and Joaquin Larrivey to take home a point.

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