Wihdat boost lead, as titleholders Ramtha slip to 10th

AMMAN — Wihdat maintained their lead at atop the Jordan Pro Football League standings head of Week 13 of the competition with major changes on key positions at both ends of standings.

Wihdat are now four points ahead after a 1-0 win over Jazira. They will next play Aqaba who handed Faisali their first loss 2-1 to move up to fifth. Hussein beat Shaba Urdun 2-1 to stay third ahead of their match against Sarih who moved up to 11th after they beat Salt 2-1.

Sahab moved up to be among the top four after holding Ramtha 0-0 while Ma’an had a big jump after beating newcomers Mugheer Sarhan 3-1.

Ramtha who won the league last year are now at a disappointing 10th. In the last two weeks, Ma’an climbed from last spot to 8th as Jazira, who finished in top five in last few years, are now last.

This week, Salt come head to head with Ma’an, as Aqaba take on Wihdat, Shabab Urdun play Ramtha, Sarih meet Hussein, Jazira face Mugheer Sarhan and Faisali play Sahab.

The biggest surprise so far have been newcomers Mugheer Sarhan who seem able to keep their spot in the Pro League, while Jazira who have scored only one win need to move out of the relegation zone.

Ramtha are the defending champs against traditional champs Faisali and Wihdat. In two of the 2022 competitions played so far, Faisali won the season opening 35th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield title when they beat Ramtha who in turn upset Jordan Cup holders Faisali 2-0 in the 39th Jordan Super Cup. 

In the 2021 season, Ramtha won the League title for the third time in their history ending a 39 year drought. Newcomers to the Pro League, relatively unknown Jalil, overcame Wihdat to win the 34th JFA Shield; Wihdat beat one-time winners Jazira in the 38th Jordan Super Cup, while Faisali beat Salt to win the Jordan Cup. 

Last season, Baqa’a were relegated in their worst season, yet, and were accompanied by Jalil. Mugheer Sarhan and Sarih were promoted from the First Division.

Since the league kicked off in 1944 with only Faisali, Ahli, Urdun and Homenetmen competing, Faisali are 34-time record league champs while Wihdat won 17 times since they joined in 1980. Although Faisali are the all-time record titleholders, Wihdat’s record is quite impressive. After four years in the Pro League, they won their first title in 1980 and have gone on to win the majority of titles since then. Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times each, Shabab Urdun twice, Amman and Urdun clubs once each.