Ivan Toney scored a penalty in the 104th minute as Al-Ahli came back from a goal down to defeat Al-Taawoun 2-1.
Toney stepped up at the end of an epic period of stoppage time to dispatch the winner and take Al-Ahli to within seven points of Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal.
Zakaria Hawsawi cancelled out Roger Martinez’s first-half stoppage-time penalty, and despite a late red card for Ibanez, Toney managed to snatch all three points at the death to extend Al-Ahli’s winning run to four games.
A quiet first half was close to finishing goalless, but Al-Taawoun took the lead from the spot as Martinez sent Abdulrahman Al Sanbi the wrong way after Merih Demiral fouled Fulgini in the box.
Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi missed a golden chance to double Al-Taawoun’s advantage two minutes into the second half after his shot from close range was smothered by the Al Ahli goalkeeper at the near post.
Al-Taawoun were made to rue that miss just after the hour mark. Toney was played into the box with a lofted pass and the striker managed to square the ball to give Hawsawi a simple header at the far post.
Al-Ahli were then in the ascendancy, but a second yellow card for Ibanez after a high challenge hindered their hopes.
However, Demiral drew a foul deep into stoppage time after beating Muteb Al Mufarrij to a long ball, and Toney kept his composure from 12 yards out.
Al-Qadsiah, meanwhile, secured a fourth consecutive win in the league as they thrashed Al-Fayha 5-0, with Julian Quinones scoring a hat-trick before Mateo Retegui and Eyad Houssa also got on the scoresheet.
Data Debrief: Ten up for Toney
Al-Ahli continued to push for the win after the red card, registering the only two shots after Ibanez’s dismissal, and they reaped their rewards.
They produced 2.13 expected goals (xG) from 11 shots to Al-Taawoun’s 1.03 from five attempts.
And Toney’s goal and assist were representative of his impact. He registered the most shots for his side (four), joint-most chances created (two), won seven of his 12 duels and won three free-kicks.
His penalty was also his 10th league goal of the season, while he has scored five in his last four matches.
