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Etisalat Pro-League Competition matches restart on Thursday

 

The Etisalat Pro-League Competition Round 14 matches will restart on Thursday March 24 after a break of more than one month due to the participation of six UFL teams in the 2011 Asian Champions League Competition and the GCC Club League and Cup Winners Championship along with UAE London 2012 Olympic qualifiers matches against their Sir Lankan counterparts. Two games will be played every night for three successive days with all teams hoping to better their positions on the table and add more points to reduce the big deficit between them and the two top squads Al Jazira who are on top of the ladder with 35 points followed by their sole competitors Bani Yas in the second spot after collecting 27 points.

Al Ahli and Kalba are going to cut the ribbon of the round when they meet in the first encounter of week 14 tomorrow at Rashid Stadium, kick off 5:45pm. Al Ahli are sitting on third position with 21 points while their opponents Kalba are still staying at the bottom of the table. Dubai-based Al Ahli, led by their two brothers Faisal and Ahmad Khalil lost to Al Wasl 0-2 in week 13, but they recovered in the GCC competition to collect full mark after two wins against Al Arabi of Kuwait and Al Ahli of Bahrain who pulled out of the event. However, they are likely to miss the efforts of their defender Mohammad Jasim due to injury. Their rivals Kalba made a big surprise in the last round beating defending champions Al Wahda 5-3. It was their second win since the start of the Etisalat Pro-League Competition as they defeated Al Ain 4-1 in round 9. They played two friendly games during league break period beating Sharjah and losing to Al Nasr by a solitary goal.

Sharjah will host Al Ain in the second match of the day at 8:30pm. Both teams lost their games played in week 13. Sharjah were trounced by leaders Al Jazira 3-0 to slip to 8th place while Al Ain lost 2-1 to Al Nasr, a defeat that see them second from bottom. The hosts had organized a short warm-up camp in Abu Dhabi during which they played two friendly games. Their defender Mousa Hatab was injured in yesterday's session and his participation against Al Ain is doubtful. Al Ain will also miss the efforts of their Romanian player Valentine due to jaw operation and according to his Brazilian coach Alexander Gallo he will be ready after one week. The visitors did not maintain even a single win for 201 days. Their last victory was on September 3 when they beat Al Nasr 3-0 in the second week of the league competition.

This round will be continued on Friday with two games with Al Dhafra hosting Al Shabab at Hamdan Bin Zayed Stadium at 5:55pm and defending champions Al Wahda and league leaders Al Jazira playing the second match at Al Nahyan Stadium ,kick off at 8:30. The home team are staying on 7th spot with a difference of 17 points behind Al Jazira. Both teams have moved recently into the President's Cup final match after beating Al Shabab and Al Wasl in the semifinal matches. Al Jazira are leading the competition with a balance of 35 points and they are the only team who did not lose a single game since the start of the competition. They won in 11 games and drew only twice against Al Wahda 0-0 and Al Ahli 2-2.

The week's matches will be concluded on Saturday March 26. Al Nasr, who are on 6th spot with 19 points, will face ninth-placed Dubai with 12 points at Al Maktoum Stadium at 5:45pm. Bani Yas, the sole competitors of Al Jazira will take on Al Wasl at Al Shamkha ground at 8.30pm. Both squads won their round 13 matches when Al Wasl beat Al Ahli 2-0 and Bani Yas overcame Al Dhafra with the same result. The visiting team are staying on 4th position with 20 points and they are 15 points behind Al Jazira.