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Al Nasr take second position; Dubai revive hopes and Emirates in critical situation

 

Sharjah' relegation to First Division was not a surprise to UAE football lovers, because its indications seemed clear since the beginning of the season as changes continued both at the level of the players or even the technical body and this highly affected the team's performance and its technical standard. But the straw that broke the camel's back was the 2-1 loss to Ajman in Etisalat Pro League round 21 match of this season. Sharjah's balance was frozen at 10 points, four points behind their nearest contenders (Emirates), while Ajman raised their tally to 31 points taking seventh position behind sixth-placed Al Ahli who have collected the same balance of points but remain one step ahead according to the results of the head-to-head matches.

Al Nasr maintained the second position in the penultimate round of the Etisalat Pro League for this season after raising their tally to 40 points. They won in 11 matches, drew in 7 and lost three, scored 47 goals and conceded 31 to become the second strongest offense line in the league competition along with Al Jazira who netted the same number of goals.

On the other hand, Dubai revived their hopes to stay in the Professional League following their 5-2 win over Al Wasl to raise their balance to 17 points. They need to come out with a draw against Al Jazira in the last round match irrespective of the result of Emirates v Al Wahda game. If Al Jazira and Emirates beat Dubai and Al Wahda in the last round, Dubai will join Sharjah and officially relegate to the First Division as they lost earlier to Emirates 1-2 and 2-4 in head-to- head matches.

Al Jazira lost 2-3 to their neighbors Al Wahda for the latters to take 5th place with 33 points, two points behind fourth-placed Al Jazira who have collected 35 points. It was the second successive loss for Al Jazira who are competing with Al Shabab (37 points) for the third spot. Al Shabab will host their city rivals Al Nasr in Dubai derby at Maktoum Bin Rashid in the last game.

Al Wasl and Bani Yas will reserve their 8th and 9th positions respectively regardless of their last round games. Both teams failed to show high technical standard in the local competitions, but what intercedes for Bani Yas in this season that they have an opportunity to qualify for the second round of the AFC Champions League 2012, as they need a draw in their forthcoming encounter against the Uzbek team Pakhtakor.