The message was clear from Al Ahli. They are not going to let leaders Al Ain out of their sight in the race for the Arabian Gulf League crown, no matter what happens.
With a trip to relegation-threatened Sharjah seemingly set to end in a damaging goalless draw, lesser teams would have folded after a clear 89th-minute penalty was denied them when Abdulla Ahmed scythed down UAE full-back Abdulaziz Sanqour.
Instead of letting the sense of injustice take over, a potentially-defining moment in 2015/16 followed.
Effervescent forward Ciel responded like a true champion, his pin-point cross allowing Dh81 million record-buy Moussa Sow to nod in a header on the stroke of stoppage time.
The Ahli bench erupted, coach Cosmin Olaroiu – already in the stands for a previous bout of dissent – bellowed a battle cry. In a round which has already seen the Boss conjure an escape act of their own at Dibba Al Fujairah, this felt like a critical moment as the two-point gap to the holders was reinstated.
Such drama seemed unlikely to follow after a dull opening.
The travelling ‘Ahlawy’ contingent had been silenced by the lack of action.
It was a similarly-frustrating story for the relegation-threatened King, for whom Al Ain-slayer Wanderley toiled alone up top without reward.
A breakthrough had to come out of the blue, Ciel coming closest in the first half when he crashed against the crossbar from distance in the 34th minute.
Ahli were unable to pick up the pace after the interval as stasis remained, Olaroiu’s frustration causing the not-uncommon sight of a red card.
Headers from Ciel and Sow fizzed wide, while the former hit the crossbar with an over-hit cross.
Indeed, only UAE left-back Walid Abbas’ diligence prevented Sharjah claiming an invaluable three points as he stopped playmaker Ricardinho from following in his lob over goalkeeper Majed Nasser.
The stage was set for remarkable football drama. Referee Ammar Al Juneibi came to the fore, somehow booking Sanqour for a dive despite centre-back Ahmed’s clumsy slide tackle clearly felling him.
A damaging and now-unjust draw seemed certain. This did not count for Senegal forward Sow, who beat goalkeeper Rashid Ahmed to the ball to flick in a famous winner.
