Spring Previews - Week Six - March 27th

Haya vs Sabr

Haya looks to prolong their win streak to 6 games as they face off against Sabr tonight. Everything is swinging in the right direction for the grey shirts, but can Sabr be a roadblock for Haya? Naeem Akhtar and Junaid Mohammad still prove to be the main arteries for Haya while Yusuf Kapoor also continues to glimmer for the Misty Marauder. Can Haya devour Sabr?

Sabr was plagued with some weird plays last game as all didn't go well globally. Losing 4-2 to Ihsan in a somewhat lethargic fashion, we question if the yellow shirts are still in this? With 2nd place and last place being distanced by two points, every point is critical as this season the parity for each team is pretty darn close. Can Sabr rebound from their dreadful loss?

Emaan vs Ihsan

I wouldn't call it a pummelling but let's just say the Orangemen "freshly squeezed" the life out of Shukr. Waqar Khan, you're probably tired of hearing his name but this guy is showing no mercy to any team. GM Furqan Salam and his crew are on cloud nine with their last win and anticipate to forward that momentum when they battle Ihsan. Will the Orangemen prevail over the Red Army? 

Ihsan pulled of a towering victory last week with Nauman Abbasi and Abdul Wahab Mohammad showcasing sound performances. The needed win puts the Red Army back into the playoff picture but now have the daunting task of battling Emaan. GM Salman Khalid missed the last game so his presence versus the Orangemen just might be what the doctor ordered. Can Ihsan pull over the impossible?

Ikhlas vs Shukr

The Green Army are close to broke if they don't succeed tonight. GM Wakaas Khan and his clan played with their hearts on their sleeves but couldn't handle the Haya's abundance of talent. Ikhlas's playoff chances are on the line versus Shukr tonight. Who'll take home the bragging right? Can the green shirts give the seasoned Shukr squad a run for their money?

Shukr played a game that probably should be forgotten, or a lessons learned. Playing with a shortened bench, the blue shirts couldn't withstand Emaan's offensive firepower and got smudged by a 6-1 score. Tonight's Shukr's "playoff game" versus Ikhlas, Shukr must perform a earn a win or things won't look good for the blue shirts. Anticipate Captain Ibrahim Hindy and Shuaib Hussein to get these boys jolted up for tonight. Will Shukr be able to win their first game?

Spring Previews - Week Five - March 20th

Emaan vs Shukr

You can bet all your marbles that Emaan will be storming out of the floodgates when they face Shukr this Friday. After giving their Ikhlas chums a rough ride in the form of a 6-0 beatdown, expect the Orangemen to pour it on to a team that's still floating in the lake. The biggest peril on Emaan is none other than Waqar Khan. The guy has been hotter than Rob Ford's crack pipe and quite frankly the most tenacious player on orange. Netminder Sadiq Rehman will heavily rely on the expertise of both Bilal Pervaiz and Belal Hafeez at the blue line. With a win, either team locks up a firm stance on second place. Can Emaan hand Shukr their first loss?

Despite pocketing four ties in four games, it seems that Shukr is still roaming around and trying to find a win. In their last tilt, Shukr found themselves trailing the game, but held together once again only to construct another tying performance. The Blue Battalion have managed to hold their own each week and are very close to getting that monkey off their back. Can it be this week? Will Captain Ibrahim Hindy's troops counter Emaan's quick legs? Shuaib Hussein and Gehad Alhundi once again face the limelight and hope to relieve the pressure that resides on Shukr's management. Will Shukr give Emaan a run for their money? 

Player To Watch:

Ibrahim Hindy has been full throttle for the blue shirts, notching 5 points in 4 games. 

Who's Hot?

Waqar Khan had a 4 point night last game and is clearly leading his pack in points. 

Burning Questions?

Which team will get a grasp on second place?

Haya vs Ikhlas

The Misty Marauders continue their ascent in the spring season with another illuminating win over Ihsan. Much can be said about the plethora of offence gushing out of Haya's veins, as alike has been their tough defence. However, we bite our nails in fear of what might transpire when grey faces green this week. Am I going to call this a washout? Well, pretty much. There's a lot of depth in Haya and it seems that Ikhlas just won't be able to sustain it. Several Haya entities have attributed to the team's stature, yet most polarizing have been Junaid Mohammad and Naeem Akhtar. Is this the biggest free ride Yusuf Kapoor will get this week? Watch out Ikhlas, this may get ugly!

What will become of Ikhlas when they tango with Haya this. The Green Machine got pickpocketed by Emaan and pretty much didn't show any urgency whatsoever. The green shirts got served 6 unresponsive goals and outshot 26-9...pretty staggering statistics eh! I know it's been a struggle for Ikhlas but someone has to dictate the orders in this team. Team green is only two points away from the final playoff spot so let's not totally mail this home yet! Ikhlas requires a solid performance from everyone but most critically they need Ibad Khan back ASAP. Ibad, I hope you're reading this. Will the fate of Ikhlas be murky or magnificent? Time for Ikhlas to get their act together.

Player To Watch:

Amir Multani has been quiet this season. Will this "shoutout" get him going?

Who's Hot?

Aazar Zafar has been a big factor to this team. His versatility has experience has shouted volumes for Haya.

Burning Questions?

Can Ikhlas even buy a win?

Ihsan vs Sabr

Ihsan still seems to be lost in the woods when it comes to capturing a win. The Red Army played a vacillating game versus Haya but couldn't capitalize on the chances and essentially tasted defeat once again. We're almost halfway through the season and it's quite baffling to see Ihsan in this conundrum, especially with the seasoned roster they possess. Many would've guessed that Ihsan would at least be a top four team, guess we were wrong about that, thus far. Yousuf Soliman, Hany Soliman and Ahmad Hathout will have to elevate their presence while they can. Will the red shirts be able to topple Sabr? Can GM Salman Khalid's team turn it around and get into the win column?

Despite getting a few lucky bounces and missing key players, Sabr had Shukr on the edge of their seats early in the game. While the winning spirit was evident, Sabr's legs started to deteriorate over time as Shukr pounced on the yellow shirt's depleted roster. Long story short, Sabr walked away with a tie, which is still great news for GM Mustafa Alam. Versus Ihsan, you can expect Sabr's young guns to crash the net all night long and give netminder Abu Mamooji an grueling time between the pipes. Atif Mian, Yousuf Sowdagar and Navaz Sheikh will be the guys that require the utmost attention for the Red Army. Can Sabr claw out a win against a salivating Ihsan team?

Player To Watch:

He was called out and he delivered. Nadeem Qureshi dished out a 3 point night and will need to hit the repeat button this week.

Who's Hot?

Yousuf Sowdagar also had a stellar 3 point night last game.

Burning Questions?

Can Ihsan find a way to win?

Spring Previews - Week Four - March 6th

Ikhlas vs Emaan

As the week one match-ups repeat themselves, we see the final regular season meet-up of the Cambridge clans. Or as the Ikhlas group termed it: Ikhlas vs. Cambridge Two.

Ikhlas managed to shake a massive monkey off their backs with an emphatic win against Sabr. Besides the win, placing 4 goals behind Zayd Agjee is likely the biggest boost of confidence that Ikhlas could hope for. And they pulled it off without Ibad Khan in net!

But this week it's personal. Ikhlas was thoroughly dominated by Emaan in their last meeting with Emaan completely dominating the ball possession and Corsi ratings.

And Emaan needs to get back to that performance after clearly struggling against the speed and tenacity that Haya showed them in back-to-back weeks. Haya out played and out hustled Emaan, and that seemed more and more apparent with each passing minute the two teams played. Perhaps Furqan Salam and Arif Bijabhai need to take a lesson from Haya and cut out some of the cute plays they keep trying to pull off.

My guess is a much more competitive game than the last time these two teams played. Watch Ikhlas to crash the net with authority, and let's see what kind of push-back Emaan will have.

Players to Watch: Ibad Khan - first, watch if he's even there. Then watch what he can do if the team in front of him runs like they did last week.

Who's Hot: Jibraan Salam had 3 points the last time these two played and has been very effective this season, so far.

Burning Questions: Can Ikhlas beat Cambridge Two?

Haya vs. Ihsan

The first game between these two was a game of momentum. First, Haya carried the game for the first period and some of the second period. They ended up with a 1 goal lead. Then Ihsan kept pressing and pressing but couldn't tie the game.

One thing I remember from watching the game was that Ihsan had possession of the ball for good portions of the game but had difficulty converting their possession into shots. But that's exactly what they'll need to do if they want to win their first game of the season.

Haya has been getting great performances from Naeem Akhter and Junaid Mohammad. There were rumours that Akhter was having second thoughts about joining a GM group this season (before being bullied by the league commissioner) but it seems like he's a great spot with the Maliks as they lead the Haya team. Akhter leads the league in goals and he, along with Mohammad, lead the league in points. 

Haya has a considerable lead in the standings and Ihsan has yet to win a game this season. So expect Ihsan to come out with guns blazing. And Haya may have trouble with perhaps the only other team in the league that can match its speed with Yousuf Soliman and Ahmad Hathout leading the way. Hathout in particular seems to have evolved into a one man wrecking crew as he brushes opposing players off him like it's nothing.

Ihsan needs to get more offense though, and are probably looking to Nadeem Qureshi and his disappointing production so far.

Players To Watch: Yusuf Kapoor has done an admirable job in goal for Haya, especially his last performance where he turned away 26 shots.

Who's Hot: Naeem Akhter has been leading the charge for the unbeaten Haya.

Burning Questions: Is the pressure getting to Rizwan Malik? Saleem Malik recently went on a rant about how the media has been treating Riz unfairly, claiming that they should be ashamed. Things might be really stressful for the Maliks right now.

Shukr vs. Sabr

Sabr GM Mustafa Alam was given a pretty difficult dose of reality last week when his squad was handed a 4-1 loss by Ikhlas. After beating up on Ikhlas a week earlier by a score of 5-1, including a pretty end-to-end play by Alam himself, he thought his club wouldn't lose another game. But with a full squad, Sabr had difficulty keeping up against their opponents.

Here's the reality: The parity in this league has never been closer. Teams will likely be neck and neck the whole way through the season and while you might beat up a team one week, they're liable to beat up on you the very next week.

And on the note of parity, there is no better example than Shukr who have tied all of their games this season.

The biggest issue for Shukr at this point has to be their goal production as they have only tallied 4 goals in their first 3 games or a 1.33 goals/game average. Needless to say, that won't give any team enough wins. Shuaib Hussain will need to pick it up as he only has 2 assists this season and we all know his job is to score goals.

Hussain will get to play against his close friend Yousuf Sowdagar, who made his season debut last week after recovering from an ankle injury. Sowdagar recorded an assist but was largely ineffective as his team suffered their first loss of the season. But the friendly rivalry between Sowdagar, Hussain and Gehad Alhundi will be an interesting backdrop for the second match-up between these two teams.

Players to Watch: Arssal Shahabuddin missed last game as his daughter was born that very night. There's something about new fathers scoring in their first game back, so look out for that!

Who's Hot: Fuzail Thakur has 3 points - leading Sabr this season.

Burning Questions: How many end-to-end goals will Alam score this game?