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Matchday 10 – A review of the league matches

Written by Schumi-

Still four rounds of matches to play, but one of the four Divisions 2 already has a champion, plus two Division 3 – leagues as well. To see which teams are champion already, read the Article, and then you can also see that the Article finishes with virtual standings for the Amiri League that would have been the case if all matches would have ended after just one half – you will see some striking differences with the current standings! Of course, also the reviews of last weekend’s matches are included.

We start with reviewing the leagues, first the Amiri League:

#1 Azad - #3 Kojak United

For the 28th time in history, it was time for the classic in United Arab Emirates, a battle between Azad and Kojak United. As this match deserves, it turned out to be a thriller. Favorite was Azad, still undefeated in the league, but with a loss in the Cup Final and a draw last week versus Dubai Heroes, there were some chances for Kojak United. A good midfield for away team Kojak United helped them in a good first half, as they came back from 1 – 0 to 1 – 2 before the break. However, a match only ends after 90 minutes, and Azad had an incredible central attack, which was impossible to stop for Kojak’s central defense. So when Azad finally got their chances in the centre, Kojak United was left with few options, and Azad scored two goals, turning the game around again to 3 to 2. It was not Kojak United after these goals putting most pressure on the match, but Azad who had several chances to extend their lead. They did not succeed, but the final standing of 3 to 2 was enough for Azad to get 3 more points, which put them even closer to taking another title.

#2 Desert Wolves F.C - #4 Warrawong Grasshoppers

This was an important match for the battle for second place and Wolves’ manager HawkDown seems to be determined to get that second place, putting full focus on this match. That, in combination with a first-half red card for one of Grasshoppers’ midfielders put Desert Wolves F.C in a great position for this match.Showing no signs of weakness throughout the whole match, a 3 – 0 score during the break was even further extended to 6 – 0 in the second half. Since both Wolves’ main rivals (Warrawong Grasshoppers and Kojak United) lost their match, they extend the gap to number 3 by 3 points. This not only gives them an advantage on the table, also it will be good for their confidence, and that same confidence might give Warrawong Grasshoppers problems in the coming weeks.

#5 NoTax United - #6 Abu Dhabi Humidity

Another interesting match, as the winner of these two had a chance to fully close the gap to Warrawong Grasshoppers and Kojak United. Abu Dhabi Humidity is dropping down the ranking after a good start, while this season’s Cup Winner, NoTax United, has improved lately after a terrible start of the season. That good series plus the home advantage gave NoTax United the edge in this match, but Abu Dhabi Humidity clearly did not want to give this important match away that easily, after an early opening goal. As said before, the match does not end there, and NoTax United came back and managed to get a safe 4 – 1 win in the end, even though the match ratings show a close 50/50-match. The points are in the pocket again for NoTax United, and they have closed the gap to the Top 4 to just 1 point now. Abu Dhabi Humidity gets more and more pressure from the number 7, and for them the next match will be even more important than this match.

#7 Dubai Heroes - #8 AL-Saidi

No boring matches this week in the Amiri League, because also this one was very interesting – both teams fighting to get out of the bottom two places, and it was clear that the one losing this match would have no hope left. In a tough match with 4 cards and injuries for both sides, Dubai Heroes took the lead early in the back, but AL-Saidi managed to equalized. Later on, Dubai Heroes scored another 2 goals, seemingly getting a good win, but late in the match AL-Saidi came close again after scoring the 3 to 2 goal. The equalizer never occurred and thus Dubai Heroes won the match. This keeps them in seventh place with only 3 points less than number 6 and next opponent Abu Dhabi Humidity. On the other hand, AL-Saidi gets further and further behind and will surely relegate.

What will happen coming weeks in the Amiri League?

Lots of interesting issues in UAE’s top league, and that deserves some attention.

- Azad has in my opinion around 60% chance to become champions already coming Sunday. What is needed for them to secure the championship? (1) They must win the away match against number 8 AL-Saidi and (2) runner-up Desert Wolves F.C should lose their away match against number 3 Kojak United.
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- For sixth place (which means avoiding direct relegation), we have a battle between Abu Dhabi Humidity and Dubai Heroes. These teams play against each other next weekend. If Dubai Heroes wins the match, they are fully back in the game after a great comeback, but if Abu Dhabi Humidity wins the match, they are quite safe for sixth place.
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- For the second place, 4 teams are still batteling. On the Forum in the Prediction Game, the odds show that number 4 Warrawong Grasshoppers is favorite for that place. However, they need to close a gap of 5 points to Desert Wolves F.C, who place a crucial away match against number 3 Kojak United coming weekend. If Kojak United wins that match, everything is still possible. NoTax United also have their chances, but seeing their latest performances, I doubt they are strong enough to take down the other three teams.

II.1

In the II.1, leader Indian Vikings did a good job by beating Los Blancos F.C by 2 to 0, which drops the last of the two into third position. 300 warriors does a very good job by beating Al-Barsha 4 to 1, and with that win, 300 warriors take over second place. Number 6 Invinsibles had an easy match (8-0) as they faced bot team Al-Fujairah, who nevertheless still remain in fourth position. Number 7 LaMTaRa gets a good 5 – 0 win as they faced bot team Sand Foxes, but the chances for LaMTaRa to get a Top 6 spot are still small. With an 8 points gap for leader Indian Vikings, they can win the title coming weekend, but only if (1) they win their own match against bot team Al Fujairah, which should cause no trouble, and if (2) numbers 2 and 3, 300 warriors and Los Blancos F.C. get a draw against each other.

II.2:

In the II.2, leader Inter AD had another difficult match, this time in a home match versus number 3, The Dubai Desert Devils. This team wisely using attacking on the wings as their strategy, from which they also scored all their 3 goals. The Dubai Desert Devils resisted until the very end, but the 3 to 2 result gave them no points. This is another step closer to the title for Inter AD, although promotion will be much more difficult to get. Runner-up Ottoman Empire FC keeps following Inter AD on 5 points, as they safely defeated number 6 Juve Juniors. Numbers 4 and 5 close the gap to number 3, The Dubai Desert Devils, to just 1 point as they both took a win. For number 4 Al-Qurri that was a 1 – 6 win against number 8 AC Falcons. Number 5 Dubai Rockets defeated number 7 Reza 1 to 3. For Inter AD no chances yet to take the title already coming week.

II.3:

As already said in the last Article, leader IFK CastECastle had a chance to already take the title last weekend, and their 2 – 0 win againstBianconeri 4ever was enough to do the job! Congratulations to them! Promotion is still far away, so their season is not over yet, but they obviously are among the best 2 teams in Division 2, and also among the best 8 teams in United Arab Emirates, so for the sake of competition, one can only hope they make it. Bianconeri 4ever drops from second to fourth after that loss. Second palce goes back to Mr. Draw with his team Awesometropolis, who get a sixth draw in just 10 matches – this time a 1 – 1 against Heart United. AL-MaMari climbs into 3rd as they beat number 8 The Winning 11 by 1 to 4. Ibsen Glory beats -fc Aslansar- 3 to 0, which means they switch places; Ibsen Glory is in sixth position now, while Aslansar dropped to seventh position.

IFK CastECastle is sure of the title, The Winning 11 is sure of relegation, but with just 3 points from number 2 to number 7, still everything is possible inbetween.

II.4:

Also the leader of the II.4, Total Tykes had a chance already to take the title with 4 weeks yet to come, but they still have to wait a bit longer. Not their fault, as they got a close win against number 3 Dubai Gunners, but runner-up Wild Boys U.A.E. defeated Kolonija FC 1 to 8, so that the gap from first to second place is just 10 points now. Kolonija FC drops from fifth to sixth after just another loss, and Al-Taliaa takes that fifth place from them after a 6 to 0 win against number 4, Emirate 2008. Number 8 Alexa got their first win of the season against the new bot team, Azzuri FC. The score was 8 to 0.

Only Wild Boys U.A.E. can keep the title away from leader Total Tykes, and very interestingly, these two teams face each other this weekend, as Total Tykes will visit the runner-up. This will be the toughest match this season for Total Tykes, but a draw will be enough to secure the title. For promotion, a win would be more welcome though. Also the battle for fourth palce is still very interesting in this league.

The Champions:

You could already read that IFK CastECastle (458437) took the title in the II.3, an impressive achievement!

Also the III.2 has a champion as leader SPQR-A (458453) has a 13 points gap to the number 3 in their league.

And finally, the III.6 also has their champion already, with a 13 points difference between numbers 1 and 2 as well. The champion that league is Atonements (458477).

The Amiri league with just 1 half:

I made some calculations, assuming that all matches in the Amiri League would have ended after just 1 half, and this would be the ranking so far:

1. Abu Dhabi Humidity - 21 points
2. Azad – 21 points
3. Desert Wolves F.C – 17 points
4. Kojak United – 16 points
5. Warrawong Grasshoppers – 12 points
6. NoTax United – 11 points
7. Dubai Heroes – 10 points
8. AL-Saidi – 1 point

Most striking is that Abu Dhabi Humidity is leading here, while they are actually in sixth position with threat from the number 7. So if Abu Dhabi Humidity could continue like this in their second half, they would be much more dangerous. Also interesting to see is that Azad’s gap is much smaller here, getting 3 draws and a loss. So when you play against Azad, never cheer too early! Dubai Heroes is also very close to some of the bigger teams here, but seems like they cannot keep their performances up in the second half…