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Leaders Al Ain are ahead of their closest rivals with a five-point difference
The 14th round of the Etisalat Pro-League of the current season saw some changes after leaders Al Ain expanded the difference of points between them and their closest rivals Al Nasr to five points, and between them and third-placed Al Jazira to seven points following Al Nasr's 1-1 draw with Al Wahda , the 1-2 loss of Al Jazira to Bani Yas and the 2-0 win obtained by Al Ain over Dubai at the end of this round which was concluded on Wednesday, 15 February .Al Ain are currently on top of the table with a balance of 33 points while Al Nasr are second with 28 points and Al Jazira are third with 26 points.
It is worth mentioning that the Pro-League Championship will come to a halt for one month due to the participation of the UAE Senior and Olympic Teams in the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, as well as the Asian qualifiers for the 2012 London Olympics. The matches of the next round will be played on 15 and 16 March. The 9th and 10th rounds games of the Etisalat Cup for professionals will be held during the stoppage period, as well as both matches of the semifinals which will be played on March 11.
This round also saw Ajman moving two steps forward taking 7th position after beating Al Wasl 4-2 in the game played on Zabeel pitch in Dubai, which was considered the most exciting game in the last round. Ajman raised their balance to 18 points, while Al Wasl's tally was frozen at 21 points that put them in fifth place.
In Deira Derby Al Shabab achieved an important 3-2 victory over their counterpart Al Ahli in the match that took place on Rashid Stadium, to raise the tally to 24 points in 4th place, while Al Ahli are 8th with 17 points. Both Sharjah and Emirates shared points in the same round, after being tied to a 1-1 draw, in spite of the need of both teams to win full points to avoid relegation zone. Emirates retained their 10th spot with 11 points and Sharjah are second from bottom with 10 points. Perhaps the biggest losers in this round were Dubai team after losing to leaders Al Ain with two straight goals scored by Argentine's Scocco and Ghana's Asamoah Gyan .Dubai are at the bottom of the ladder with 7 points, and they need a miracle to avoid relegation as they have to win all matches if they want to stay in the Etisalat Pro-League for another season.
Al Jazira's Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira is leading the scorers' standings with 13 goals, followed by Al Wasl's Uruguayan player Oliveira and Ghana's Asamoah player of Al Ain in the second place with 11 goals each.
The round also saw 22 yellow and two red cards, as well as 20 goals scored in six games. Dubai were the only team who could not score in this round as they lost 0-2 to Al Ain.