Wihdat still in lead as Week 15 kicks off

AMMAN — Even if the weather forces a postponement of upcoming matches, Wihdat’s aim will be to take their lead further when they play Hussein in Week 15 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League scheduled to be played starting Thursday.

Wihdat once again disappointed fans when they were held 0-0 by bottom-placed Ittihad Ramtha. It was only because Ramtha lost 2-1 to Ahli that the titleholders were able to keep their lead as Ahli, who had earlier defeated Wihdat, jumped up to fifth.

Ramtha now trail three points behind Wihdat and next play Ittihad Ramtha, while Jazira, who beat Hussein 2-1, next play Manshieh.

Baqaa went up to 9th after a 3-0 win over former champs Shabab Urdun, who are now 11th and next play Faisali, who held Manshieh 0-0 and remained eighth. Former Jordan Cup champs That Ras are fourth after they beat Sarih 1-0. They will next play Baqaa while Sarih play Ahli.

Wihdat will next prepare to play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup after they were ousted from the preliminary round of AFC Champions League when they went down 1-0 to titleholder Kuwait’s Qadissieh.

Faisali have declined to play any regional events as the former record-breaking League team are in an administrative crisis that has left them trailing at the lower end of the standings for the first time ever since the League kicked off in 1944. Shabab Urdun also disappointed fans trailing down in the standings, while Baqaa, a usual top five finisher, is now 9th after only three wins.

Locally, the Jordan Cup semis will see Faisali play Wihdat and Ramtha face That Ras. 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 League for the 13th time, and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup while Shabab Urdun edged That Ras to win the 31st Super Cup. The Jordan Football Association Shield was not held.