Faisali play last match as Wihdat aim to stay in contention

AMMAN  — Faisali play their final match of Group B Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League matches when they host UAE’s Sharjah at  Amman International Stadium on Monday.

The Jordanian team has been eliminated from the competition, but are seeking to score a morale boosting win that will alter the team lackluster appearance in the leading Asian clubs competition.

Faisali lost the chance to advance further in their first participation in the event’s round robin group stages after they lost to  Sharjah and to Nasaf Qarshi 1-0 before a crushing 6-0 defeat to Qatar’s Sadd ended up in, yet, another change in coaching staff. As second leg matches resumed, coach Ahmad Hayel took on the task as they hosted Sadd beating them 2-0 before losing to Nasaf Qarshi 3-1.

Faisali are now fourth in the group and aim for a win to move to third and be eligible for the $50,000 prize money. Only the top team from each group will advance to Round 2 alongside the top 3 second placed teams.

Hayel’s side will next have to stabilise the team’s performance and lineup to be able to fight for advanced standings in local competitions.

On the other hand, Wihdat are gearing up to their last match of the second tier Asian competition — the AFC Cup — when they play Kuwait SC on December 11.

The Jordanian team also had to amend breaches in lineup and strategy after inconsistent results which saw them lose to Kuwait SC 2-1, beating Aleppo’s Ittihad 2-0 and Iraq’s Kahraba’a 3-1 in the first leg in Group B. In the return leg, they lost to Iraq’s Kahraba’a3-1 and beat Aleppo’s Ittihad 2-0 in their last match to take second spot in the group ahead of their last match.

They will need to win their match to secure qualification as only the group leaders and the best runner-up among 3 West Asia groups will advance as well.