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Abu Dhabi: While Al Shabab and Al Jazira were the big winners in the etisalat First Division Football League, Sharjah and Al Ahli were the big losers, even as Emirates and Hatta were officially demoted to Second Division.
Al Shabab defeated Sharjah 3-2 to consolidate their hopes at the top of the standings with 38 points, 3 more than Al Jazira in second place who beat Al Shaab by lone goal scored by Toni as early as in the second minute of the match.
Al Ahli lost four points in their last two matches after saving a point at home against relegated Emirates in a 1-1 tie. It was their second tie at home, following their 3-3 draw with Al Wasl last Friday. That cost them second place and they were pushed to third, a point behind Al Jazira.
Sharjah lost their second match in a row when they went down to Al Shabab to become fifth with 32 points, while Al Ain secured the second place on better goal difference after beating Al Nasr 2-1.
Al Shabab will secure the league title if they win their remaining two matches, irrespective of the results of the other games. They will host Al Wasl on Friday, before facing Al Jazira away in their last encounter on May 25.
The leadership of Al Shabab has become a phenomenon this season. They never let go their first place, even when they drew or lost a match.
Sort of a joke
It has now become sort of a joke that Al Shabab have managed to retain their leadership in the League even when they have not played a match - thanks to their oponents!
For instance, last Friday, Al Ahli had a chance to take the top spot while playing against Al Wasl. But they failed to do so, despite leading 2-0 at one stage, and settled for a 3-3 draw, leaving the top spot to Al Shabab.
Al Jazira will have to win against Al Dhafrah away and then beat Al Shabab to win the title. Other teams will have to win all their matches and then hope that Al Jazira and Al Shabab drop points in the final two weeks.
Al Wahda trounced Hatta 4-2, with their Brazilian striker Alexandro scoring a brace in his debut for the team. The victory meant that both Hatta and Emirates will go down to the Second Division, irrespective of their results in the remaining two weeks.
Al Dhafrah were the dark horse of the League after beating defending champions Al Wasl for the second time this season and collecting 25 points which secured their berth in the first UAE Pro-League next season.
Meanwhile, the UAE's rising star Sourror Salem of Al Shabab was the hero for his team's match against Sharjah as he put them into the lead in the second minute of the game, piling pressure upon the home team and paving the way for his second goal in the 22nd minute. Salem dedicated his two goals to his daughter Sarah who was only two days old on Monday. Salem's wedding was held just before the League strated this season.
Salem has scored 9 goals this season which also helped him earn a place on the UAE national team. Bearing in mind the nature of the matches of the 20th week and the importance of winning, most players were under tremendous pressures, which saw them squander many scoring chances and picking up several yellow and red cards.
In the 6 matches of this week, 30 players were shown the yellow card and 5 were sent off - Salem Al Khaboory and Reza Enayati from emirates, Abdullah Suhail and Massaod Shaja'ie from Sharjah and Abdullah Qasim from Al Jazira.
Ivan Hasek, the head coach of Al Ahli, said after his team's 1-1 tie with Emirates: "Our players lost many good scoring chances and failed to adapt to the pressure."
Goal scorers: No change at the top
Despite failing to score a single goal in the 20th week of the league, Faisal Khalil of Al Ahli and Iranian Mehrzad Ma'adanji of Al Shaab still lead the top scorers' list with 15 goals each.
Sharjah's Brazilian striker Anderson is third with 14 goals, followed by Iranian Reza Enayati, of Emirates with 13. Enayati will not be available to lead his team in the remaining two matches after he was sent off against Al Ahli on Monday.
The Al Jazira striker Toni, from Cote D'Ivoire, scored 11 goals, along with Brazilian Andre Diaz of Al Wasl.
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