It’s a three-horse race in the UFL

In life, it's a fine line between success and failure and the same applies to football. That line has been crossed a number of times by Al Ain coach Winifried Schaeffer all in one game. The last minute equaliser from Sango against Al Ahli could have been the difference between Al Ain staying in the title race and Schaeffer keeping his job.

If a club expects their team to be in the title race then two defeats in a row is often curtains for the coach as proved by Al Wahda last week. Al Ain are now four points off the top of the table behind leaders Al Ahli and Al Jazira. The title race is a three-horse race now between Al Ain, Al Ahli and Al Jazira.

The game between Al Ahli and Al Ain lived up to its billing as the game of the weekend. The reds went into the half-time break two-nil up through a brace from Hosny. You had to wonder if there was any way back for the team from the Oasis City. The simple answer was yes due in large part to the Al Ahli keeper.

He was that impressed with the curl on Valdivia's cross/shot that he forgot to go for it. The sudden realisation as the ball nestled in the back of the net that maybe he should have tried to stop it came a bit too late.

The last-minute equaliser came through a great header that caught out the keeper yet again, this time too far off his line.

The game between Al Jazira and Al Nasr nearly ended up as a farce due to some strange decision-making by the officials. The team from the capital were awarded a free-kick after a foul on Rafael Sobis. The Brazilian was tripped on the edge of the box then stumbled and fell over in the box. The referee gave the correct decision which was a free-kick.

Confusion reigns

The wall lined up and everyone was all set to go. The linesman then called the referee over and said he thought it was a penalty. The referee then took his assistant's word for it and awarded the spot kick. Al Nasr were not happy to say the least. The kick was dispatched but another twist was on the way.

The fourth official then decided he wanted to get in on the act. He called the referee over and they had a heated debate over something or the other. It finished with the referee taking the ball from the fourth official and going to start the game with Al Nasr still discussing the situation with the fourth official. It did look at one point like the game would not restart but it eventually did and Al Jazira won convincingly 3-1.

(Our columnist Sparky talks to renowned Spanish football pundit Guillem Balague each week. And don't forget to check out all the latest football news and views from around Europe at www.guillembalague.com)