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Abu Dhabi: Football fans in Madinat Zayed, the Western Region of Abu Dhabi emirate, are overjoyed with the recent displays of their city club, Al Dhafrah, in the etisalat First Division League.
The team, promoted this year, have not lost in their last four encounters and have collected a honourable eight points. Their last two matches against Al Wahda and Al Shaab, respectively, showed the improvement achieved under Egyptian coach, Ayman Al Aramdi, and put them in a relatively comfortable place away from the drop zone.
Al Dhafrah can boast of their wins against Al Wahda and Al Shaab, powerhouses of the domestic scene. The team have achieved this feat twice in both the first and second round this season and with 21 points they are placed ninth.
"The players have done a magnificent job." Al Ramadi told Gulf News. " They have snatched points from more experienced and stronger teams with sheer determination and fighting spirit."
Al Ramadi said the turning point of the match was the missed penalty by Al Shaab's Iranian Meherzad Ma'adanji. "Al Shaab are a strong team despite the fact we defeated them 3-0 in the first round. We were cautious, trying not to lose points and the squandered penalty gave our players a motive to play better and piled pressures upon our opponents."
Appreciation
The club expressed their appreciation of the team by paying them a bonus of Dh20,000 each and promising to increase the reward when they win more games.
"You can't buy loyalty. We are rewarding hard work and we have great faith in our players," said Ahmad Omarn Al Qubeissi, the secretary general of Al Dhafrah.
Meanwhile, Al Qubeissi denied reports the club have sold Moroccan defender Ameen Al Ribati to Marseille. He said: "The reports were not correct. We are working to renew his contract at the moment."
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