07 April 2006
Abu Dhabi: Al Ain and Sharjah will have to forget their President's Cup final result and return to the league today to play their postponed matches against Al Wasl and Emirates respectively.Al Ain, who successfully defended the President's Cup title, will aim to beat Al Wasl. Al Ain want to top the standings in their quest to win all three local competitions, having won the FA Cup and the President's Cup. Al Ain are fifth with 28 points, and winning tonight's match will increase their tally to 31.
Al Wahda and Al Ahli, with 34 points, are the leaders of the Etisalat First Division league. Al Ain showed that they have unlimited human resources that can withstand the absence of key, injured players.
But Al Ain had some mysterious results in the league lately. They settled for a goalless draw against bottom club Dibba Al Hisn and lost to Sharjah 2-1. Al Wahda and Al Ahli also failed to win their matches in the 17th week of the competition. Al Ain and Sharjah will both try to capitalise on this drop and try to get closer to the leaders.
Al Wasl, with 20 points, are eighth and are determined to go up the scale.
The match will be the first chance for their Nigerian striker Onyekashi to return to his old club and face his old colleagues after joining Al Wasl from Al Ain last month.
In the first match of the day, Emirates will host Sharjah in Ras Al Khaimah.
Emirates have only 12 points and are keen to avoid relegation. The last two teams in the league will go down to the Second Division. Sharjah will try to compensate for their loss in the President's Cup with a win today.
Schedule: Emirates vs Sharjah 5:45pm; Al Ain vs Al Wasl 8:15pm
By Yasir Abbasher
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
