News Center

Etisalat Cup Semi-Finals: four teams in it to win it

Following the conclusion of the group stages last weekend, Monday night sees the Etisalat Cup head towards its climax as the two semi-finals are played to decide which two teams will book their place in the final, set to be played at the end of the season in May.

At 5:45pm, Al Shabab will play host to Ajman at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in a reversal of the last fixture that saw both teams progress to the semi-finals from Group C. It was Al Shabab who came out on top in last Sunday’s game, defeating Ajman 3-1 at the Rashid bin Saeed Stadium to claim top spot in the group with 14 points, earning them a home fixture for the semi-final. Al Shabab’s Walid Abbas and Hassan Ibrahim were unused substitutes in the UAE’s 2-1 triumph over Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi on Friday night, so the defender and midfielder will have fresh legs for the game, whereas Haydarov Azizbek played the full 90 minutes for the losing side in the AFC Asian Cup qualifier. All three players were absent from Al Shabab’s Etisalat Cup group game last week as they were already away on international duty, but will return to the fold for Monday evening’s semi-final. Ajman meanwhile did not lose any of their players to international action and have had a week to prepare together as a squad. Al Shabab, who won the Etisalat Cup in the 2010-2011 season, will hope to avoid an upset and progress to the final with a victory on their home turf with the assistance of their Brazilian triumvirate of Ciel, Edgar Bruno and Luiz Alves in attack, whilst Ajman will be looking to spring a surprise to keep their hope of silverware alive, looking to the creative threat of Driss Fettouhi, Founeke Sy, Boris Kabi and Fawzi Bashir to make the difference going forward.

The second semi-final will kick off at 8:30pm as Al Jazira travel to Al Wahda’s Al Nahyan Stadium. Although Al Jazira finished top of Group B with 15 points, the draw before the start of the competition awarded semi-final home advantage to the winner of Group A; a spot secured by Al Wahda with 19 points. Al Wahda were not in Etisalat Cup action last weekend as they had already completed their 8 matches and secured qualification, so the club’s last competitive fixture came in the Etisalat Pro League with a 1-1 draw at Bani Yas on 8th March. Al Jazira meanwhile recorded an action-packed 4-4 draw at Al Dhafra in their last group game on Sunday 17th March, meaning that they are still in search of their first victory under new head coach Luis Milla. The Spaniard will hope that his five returning UAE stars – Ali Khaseif, Khamis Esmail, Ali Mabkhout, Khalid Essa and Sultan Barghash – will be in high spirits after their international victory and can transfer the positivity into a good performance at club level. Ali Khaseif, Khamis Esmail and Ali Mabkhout all made crucial contributions to the UAE’s 2-1 win over Uzbekistan, with Mabkhout scoring the winner and Khaseif making some crucial stops to hold onto the lead. Al Wahda also supplied key players for the UAE national squad, as defender Hamdan Al Kamali and strikers Saeed Al Kathiri and Ismaeil Matar all took part in the camp, with Matar coming on as a half-time substitute to turn the game around. Al Wahda have never won the Etisalat Cup, whilst Al Jazira were last crowned champions of the competition in the 2009-2010 season, and Monday night’s contest is sure to be a fiercely fought Abu Dhabi derby as both sides aim to progress to the final and add a trophy to their cabinet this season.