That Ras play vital match in Dushanbe

AMMAN –– Jordan’s That Ras play an away match against Tajikistan’s  Ravshan on Tuesday in Dushanbe while Shabab Urdun host Kyrgyzstan’s Alay Osh on Wednesday in Stage 3 matches of the 11th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup 2014.

That Ras are third in Group A on goal difference after they scored an important 1-0 win over Oman’s Suweiq last week. That Ras had lost to group leaders Lebanon’s Safaa 1-0 in their opening match.

On the other hand, it will be  Shabab Urdun’s last chance as they seek to get back into the competition. They are last in Group D after losing 2-0 to Bahrain’s Rifaa and going down 3-1 to group leaders Iraq’s Erbil.

Shabab Urdun won the second-tier Asian club competition in 2007 and last year won the Jordan Professional  League title for the second time. However, they have had an inconsistent form and are now 7th in the league. This season, Shabab Urdun were eliminated by Bahrain’s Al Hidd in the  preliminary round of the AFC Asian Champions League. They also lost to Al Hidd in Round 1 of the Arab Football Association Clubs Cup.

On the other hand, That Ras, who won the Jordan Cup last year, beat Wihdat 1-0 and are now sixth in the league. While team officials were  apprehensive of AFC Cup results acknowledging  they lacked “competitive experience” in their first Asian experience, That Ras are hopeful to advance beyond this round. 

The 10th edition of the AFC Cup includes 32 clubs from across the continent competing in eight groups with the top two in each group going on to the Round of 16.