Faisali play Wihdat as league resumes
09-02-2014 12:02 PM
Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Faisali play traditional rivals Wihdat on Sunday as three postponed Leg 1 matches of the 62nd Jordan Professional League will be played over the next 10 days before scheduled matches restart on February 20.
Faisali and Wihdat have played 72 matches over the past 38 years, with both teams winning 25 times each and drawing 22 times. They both dominated the league until Shabab Urdun won in 2005/06.
“This match is always a classic Jordanian football evening. My team is in good spirits and ready for the match,” local media outlets quoted Wihdat coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh as saying.
The coach noted that the recent training camp in Qatar — where they played Ramtha drawing 1-1, beat Qatar Gas 6-0 and Sudan’s Marrikh 1-0 — was very beneficial in light of no local matches.
As teams prepped up for the restart of the local season, Ramtha lost to Sudan’s Hilal 1-0 and beat hosts Qatar’s Shihanieh 4-1
Faisali coach Mohammad Yamani, on the other hand, said the match against Wihdat was important for both teams.
“We are ready and played four friendlies. Now we look ahead to our postponed matches, each one at a time,” he said.
Following Sunday’s match, Faisali will play Ramtha on February 14 and Shabab Urdun on February 19.
Meanwhile, the Jordan Football Association competitions committee met to finalise the season’s agenda.
The season was brought to a halt since December 8 after a major snowstorm brought life to a standstill in Jordan.
That was followed by the national team’s participation in the eighth West Asian Championship, the U-22 team’s participation at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-22 Championship and the restart of Asian Cup Group A qualifiers.
Jordan will play Syria in its final Asian Cup qualifiers on March 5.
The JFA will set Weeks 10 and 11 matches following which the Jordan Cup quarters will be played on April 4 and 5 and the return leg on April 22 and 23. The season is set to end on May 31.
Last week, Shabab Urdun were eliminated from the Asian Champions Cup after losing 3-1 to Bahrain’s Al Hidd. Shabab Urdun and That Ras will next play the AFC Cup as well.
Locally, Wihdat are still in the lead and are trailed one point behind by Baqaa and Ramtha. Holders Shabab Urdun are now sixth while Faisali are seventh.