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Four games take Etisalat Cup to midway

 

Four matches will be played in the two-day fifth round of the Etisalat Cup 2012-2013 on Thursday and Friday, December 27 and 28 which will mark the end of the first part of the competition. Dubai will meet Al Nasr on the first day at Dubai Club stadium- Al Aweer, kick off at 4:50pm within the first group clashes which is led by Al Wahda with 10 points, followed by Al Ain with 5 points, Dubai with 3 points, Al Nasr with 2 points and then Al Shaab who are staying at the bottom of the table with only one point, note that Al Wahda are the only team who played 4 matches in this group whereas all other teams played only 3 games. Both squads are looking for a win as any other results might dash their hopes in the competition.

Bani Yas will host their counterparts Ittihad Kalba at their home ground in Al Shamkha t at 8:00 pm within the second group matches. Al Wasl are on the top of this group with 9 points after playing 4 encounters, followed by Al Dhafra with 6 points , Al Jazira with 4 points , Bani Yas with 3 points and Ittihad Kalba at the bottom of the ladder with only one point. Both teams have nothing to lose and are in need to come out with full points, specifically Kalba who were recently became out of contention in the president’s cup and are far behind in the Etisalat Pro League.

 The matches of the fifth round will be concluded with Al Ain-Al Shaab clash due to kick off at 4:50pm at Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Stadium in Al Qattara. The hosts are endeavouring to come closer to group leaders Al Wahda while Al Shaab have lost hope after collecting only one point so far. On the other hand, Al Jazira and Al Dhafra will meet in a strong game of the second group at Mohammed bin Zayed stadium in the capital Abu Dhabi at 8:00pm. A win for the hosts Al Jazira, who have 6 points, will help them to move to second position in the second group irrespective of the other results. Al Dhafra have 4 points and will start the match eyeing to top the group with head-to-head matches to group leaders Al Wasl.

Some of the teams’ key players will not take part in the fifth round games due to national duties as they are currently joining the UAE National Team warm- up camp held in Doha as part of their preparations for the GCC Cup which will be hosted by Bahrain. The list of absentees includes: Mohammed Fawzi , Amer Abdul Rahman and Haboosh Saleh (Bani Yas), Mohammed Ahmed, Dawood Sulaiman, Mohanad Al Anezi and Omer Abdulrahman (Al Ain), Habeeb Al Fardan ( Al Nasr), Ali Khaseif , Khalid Essa , Ali Al Amri , Abdullah Musa , Khamis Ismaël and Ali Mabkhoot (Al Jazira).