Sport | Football
League becomes four-horse race after third week
Last season's runners-up and third-placed teams languish at bottom
- By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:00 November 1, 2011
- Image Credit: Arshad Ali/Gulf News
- Eisa Obaid of Al Shabab battles for the ball with Abdul Aziz Hussain of Al Ahli during a Etisalat Pro League match at Al Shabab Club in Dubai.
Abu Dhabi: Al Jazira, Al Wasl, Al Shabab and Al Ain share the leadership of the Etisalat Pro League after the third week of competitions with seven points each.
Bani Yas, last season's runners-up, and Al Nasr, who were third, are surprisingly stuck in the last two places though they will represent the UAE in this year's AFC Champions League, along with defending champions Al Jazira and fourth-placed Al Shabab.
Bani Yas have fired Jorvan Vieira, their head coach, and the future looks gloomy for Italian Walter Zenga, the head coach of Al Nasr, as their teams have failed to collect more than one point each, both from identical 1-1 ties with newly-promoted Ajman.
In reality, the coaches were not entirely responsible for their poor start to the season. It is amazing how clubs ignore the fact that most of them need good professional defenders and insist on bringing in only strikers, especially in the case of Bani Yas, who have brought David Trezeguet and Tony to play alongside last season's top scorer Andre Senghor and Fawzi Basheer, while their defence is vulnerable.
Virtue of patience
But with fans clamouring for action against somebody, club managements have been forced to find scapegoats. Football fans, especially in this part of the world, are not known for the virtue of patience.
Al Ain, Al Wasl and Al Shabab have presented themselves as strong contenders for Al Jazira's title.
Al Wahda and Sharjah started their climb up the standings, having scored their first wins this season against Al Nasr and Emirates respectively, and both on the road.
Al Shabab deserve to be the team of the week having successfully defended their lead over Al Ahli in the Deira derby with ten players for 20 minutes and nine players for seven minutes.
The fourth week of the competition will kick off tomorrow as the UAE senior national team face South Korea in the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup on November 11.
RESULTS
- Ajman vs Al Wasl 1-1
- Emirates vs Sharjah 2-1
- Al Jazira vs Bani Yas 3-1
- Al Nasr vs Al Wahda 0-1
- Al Ain vs Dubai 2-1
- Al Shabab vs Al Ahli 2-0
home team in CAPS
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