Wihdat play Ahli in highlight of shield matches

AMMAN — Teams got back in action on Saturday with the Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield kicking off its second week as the 2016-17 football agenda got into full swing.

The upcoming week’s Group A matches will see Faisali play Sarih, Baqa’a play Sahab and Jazira face Hussein, while in Group B, That Ras play Manshieh, Ramtha face Shabab Urdun and Wihdat take on Ahli.

The first week saw Faisali beat Hussein 2-0 while Baqa’a beat Sarih and Sahab beat Jazira 2-1. On the other hand, Wihdat beat Manshieh 2-1, Ahli held Ramtha 0-0 and Shabab Urdun beat That Ras 2-0.

The JFA brought back the shield on the calendar starting August 1 after it was not played for four seasons. Jordan Professional League titleholders Wihdat head Group B while runner-up Faisali head Group A with the top two from each group moving to the semis on September 5 and the winners advancing to the final on September 16.

Last week, Ahli made history when they beat reigning Wihdat 2-1 to win the 34th Super Cup — the first major competition on the 2016/17 football calendar. The Professional League — will kick off on October 22 while the Jordan Cup preliminary round will kick off October 31 after the conclusion of the U-17 Women’s World Cup. 

Last season, Wihdat won their third consecutive and 15th league title since they moved up to the Professional League in 1975. Faisali beat league and Super Cup titleholders Wihdat 1-0 to clinch the Super Cup, while it was Ahli, who were the overall better team of the season. After years in the backstage, Ahli beat Shabab Urdun to win their first Jordan Cup final. 

Looking back at the history of the shield tournament, Wihdat are a record eight-time winners, Faisali seven, Ramtha five, Hussein three, Jazira and Amman twice each, and Shabab Urdun, Kufrsoum and Yarmouk once each. 

Hussein were finalists seven times. Amman, have since scrapped football while Qadissieh were relegated and have since merged with Shabab Urdun.