League’s Leg 2 kicks off as Wihdat fight to stay on top

AMMAN — Teams return to the pitch on Thursday as Leg 2 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League resumes after a month long break that allowed teams to reorganise and tend to injuries as lead players were on duty at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia where Jordan was eliminated in the first round.

Wihdat play Sarih, Ramtha take on That Ras and Jazira face Ahli in highly anticipated matches. For the first time, three teams among the top four are from the north of the Kingdom. Wihdat is followed by Ramtha, surprise third-placed newcomers Sarih, and Hussein, who had been relegated.

Wihdat head into Leg 2 atop the standings but with only a two-point lead after they were held with Ramtha, Hussein and Jazira. Ramtha fans are elated and hope to compete for the title while Sarih, who lost only three matches to Wihdat, Ramtha and Hussein, are happy with third place.

Jazira are fifth, followed by Ahli, who scored important wins over Faisali, Shabab Urdun and Baqaa to settle at sixth. Former Jordan Cup champs That Ras are in 7th spot, followed by Faisali and Shabab Urdun.

Throughout the first half of the competition, Wihdat and Ramtha remained the only unbeaten teams. Wihdat beat traditional rivals Faisali 2-0 but that was only the start of Faisali’s troubles as the club suffers an administrative crisis that has left the team trailing at the lower end of the standings for the first time ever since the league kicked off in 1944. 

Faisali lost 2-1 to Sarih, 1-0 to both Ahli and That Ras and drew with Ramtha and Shabab Urdun, as the team’s fans even urged Parliament and the Higher Council for Youth to interfere.

Shabab Urdun also disappointed fans with 9th place and only two wins over Ittihad Ramtha and Manshieh. Baqaa, a usual top five finisher is now 11th after only one win over Ittihad Ramtha, who are last.

In the past 66 matches, a total of 141 goals were scored as 45 matches ended in wins and 21 in draws — 11 in goalless draws. Ramtha’s Rakan Khalidi tops the scorers list with eight goals, while Wihdat’s Mahmoud Zaatara has six.

The Jordan Football Association (JFA) only scheduled the first four weeks as three Jordanian teams might play in Asian events in February and March. Wihdat will play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League and will face Kuwait’s Qadissieh on February 10 in the preliminary round. If they win, they will advance to play Saudi Arabia’s Ahli a week later before advancing to play in the group stages.

In case Jordan League and Cup champs Wihdat advance in the Champions League, they will be replaced by League’s fourth-placed team, That Ras, in the AFC Cup alongside Jazira, who were nominated after two-time AFC Cup champs and League runner-up Faisali declined.

The Jordan Cup semis will see Faisali take on Wihdat and Ramtha face That Ras. Leg 1 quarter-final matches saw Ahli hold Ramtha 1-1, That Ras beat Jazira 1-0, Wihdat edge Sarih 1-0 and Faisali beat Manshieh 2-1. In Leg 2, Faisali held Manshieh 1-1, Wihdat held Sarih 0-0, That Ras beat Jazira 4-3 on penalties and Ramtha beat Ahli 2-1. Baqaa, Shabab Urdun and Hussein were eliminated earlier in the competition in which only Professional League teams are playing this year. 

Wihdat won the first major competition of the 2014/15 football season after they beat Baqaa 2-0 in the 32nd Super Cup.

Last season, Wihdat won the Jordan Professional League title for the 13th time and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup, while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the 31st Super Cup. The JFA Shield was not held.