Wihdat boost lead as Week 13 kicks off

AMMAN — With teams back in action in Leg 2 of the 63rd Jordan Professional League, Wihdat are five points ahead with Week 13 matches giving them a chance to boost it further.

Last week, Wihdat resumed their winning streak after a month-long break during which players were on national team duty at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia where Jordan was eliminated in the first round.

Wihdat came back to score a 2-0 win over Sarih, who remained third, while Ramtha lost their first match, 2-1 to That Ras, but remained second. The defeats of Ramtha and Sarih gave Wihdat the chance to move five points ahead.

That Ras are up a spot before they play Shabab Urdun and Jazira moved up to fourth after a 2-1 win over Ahli. Jazira will next play Ittihad Ramtha and have a chance to better their position as Sarih play second-placed Ramtha.

Baqaa beat Hussein Irbid 1-0 and moved up a spot. Now they play Manshieh hoping to score another win, while Hussein Irbid take on Faisali, who are seventh after a 1-0 win over Ittihad Ramtha.

Wihdat are still undefeated, followed by Ramtha and Sarih in the top three. Former champs Faisali and Shabab Urdun are down in the standings while former Jordan Cup champs That Ras are sixth. 

In Leg 1, Wihdat beat traditional rivals Faisali 2-0 but that was only the start of the former champs troubles as the club suffers an administrative crisis that has left the team trailing at the lower end of the standings for the first time ever since the League kicked off in 1944. Baqaa, a usual top five finisher, is now 10th after only two wins.

The Jordan Football Association (JFA) only scheduled the first four weeks of the current round as three Jordanian teams might play in Asian events in February and March. Wihdat will play the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League and will face Kuwait’s Qadissieh on February 10 in the preliminary round. If they win, they will advance to play Saudi Arabia’s Ahli a week later before advancing to play in the group stages.

In case Wihdat advance in the Champions League, the team will be replaced by the League’s fourth-placed team, That Ras, in the AFC Cup alongside Jazira, who were nominated after two-time AFC Cup champs and League runner-up Faisali declined.

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 Jordan Professional League for the 13th time and beat Baqaa to win the Jordan Cup, while Shabab Urdun beat That Ras to win the 31st Super Cup. The JFA Shield was not held.