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Al Ain assure superiority over Al Shabab with nine-point difference and mystery surrounds relegation zone

 

The Etisalat Pro League 17th round did not come up with any changes at the level of the two top teams, leaders Al Ain with 42 points and second-placed Al Shabab with 33 points as the nine-point difference between the two squads remained constant without any change, while Al Jazira stepped backwards to take third position, one point behind Al Shabab.

The mid zone of the table has seen some ups and downs changes at the time the struggle continues between the three teams Emirates, Dubai and Sharjah who are sitting at the bottom of the ladder and their mysterious fate depends on the outcome of the five remaining rounds of the competition.

The League Competition has come to a halt for two weeks after the 17th round was over as six teams Al Jazira, Bani Yas, Al Nasr, Al Shabab, Al Wahda and Al Wasl will continue their struggle in the AFC Champions League and the GCC Clubs Championship, and will come back to resume their next crucial matches in the Etisalat Pro League on April 13th. .

The latest 17th round has seen a record of 24 goals scored in six games with a difference of six goals from round 16. Al Ain remain the strongest defense among all league teams as they conceded only 12 goals in 17 games, and also second offense behind first-placed Al Jazira who netted 43 goals against 37 goals for Al Ain.

 

 Al Ain move closer


Al Ain have increased their chance to win the League title of this season after beating Bani Yas in the previous round played at home with three straight goals scored by Ali Al Wihaibi and Ghana's Gyan Asamoah, who netted two goals that raised his tally to 15 goals to top the list of scorers with one goal ahead to Al Jazira’s Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira. Al Ain were the better side in the game and they deserved to snatch the three points that helped them to stay ahead of Al Shabab with the same difference of points.

 The league leaders continued their winning streak for the ninth successive match played at their home ground, in addition to that they regained back their strong defender Ismail Ahmed, who was away since November of the last year due to a hamstring surgical operation. In contrast Bani Yas did not play well after committing a number of defensive errors and their back line was influenced by the absence of Algerian Ismail Buzaid and his colleague Yousuf Jabir. The match was just a preparation for Bani Yas prior to their President’s Cup semi-finals against Al Wahda, as well as their AFC Champions League third round game against Saudi Arabia side Al Ittihad on Wednesday, April 4th at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.


Ajman and Al Wasl look for AFC Champions League


Al Shabab  jumped to second place with a brace against Al Wasl, who completely lost hope in the championship race but still retain a little hope to end the competition taking one of the four leading positions so as to participate in AFC Championship League next season. Al  Wasl are 8 points behind Al Jazira and Al Nasr, which simply means they need the other clubs to hinder their rivals in the next rounds and at the same time they must win all their five remaining games, which seems a difficult task if  not impossible.


 What is applicable to Al Wasl is also applicable to Ajman, who are currently in fifth place ahead of Al Wasl on goal difference after beating Dubai 3-0 and have already secured a berth to stay in the professional league for another season.   

On the other hand Al Ahli have lost four points in the last two rounds following their 3-3 draw with Al Nasr and Al Wahda to come up with one point from each match that raised their balance to points 19 taking 8th spot, the same that of nine-placed Bani Yas while Al Wahda are sitting in the 7th position with 21 points. The three teams are now far from the title struggle but they are still located within the relegation zone.

 

 The struggle flares up at the bottom of the table


The seventeenth round has seen a big surprise when Emirates beat Al Jazira 3-2 to raise their tally to 14 points. The loss has kept Al Jazira a little bit far from the title race and weakened their hope to some extent, while the three points have granted Emirates an opportunity to step forward, taking an advantage of the loss of their rivals Dubai and Sharjah to Ajman and Al Nasr with 3-0 and 2/3 respectively. Dubai are in 11th position with 11 points while Sharjah are at the bottom of the table with 10 points. Thus, the three teams Emirate, Dubai and Sharjah have become closer to relegation area unless the forthcoming weeks, come out with an unexpected surprise that might change the ranks of the teams. Both Dubai and Sharjah will play a crucial match when they meet in round 19 on April 27.