Fall Season - Week Five - October 20th

8:00 PM - Ikhlas vs Emaan
After four weeks, Ikhlas (green) finds themselves last overall in the standings - and outside of the final playoff spot.  Last week, in the “All Cambridge” duel, Ikhlas got trounced by their bitter rivals 6-2.  In fact, their last three games they have been outscored 15-3 (4-1 against Shukr, 5-0 against Sabr and 6-2 against Haya).  Perhaps they can find optimism in the fact that Wakaas Khan is second overall in points (8) and Umair Awan, who tallied twice last game is tied with Haya’s, Furqan Salam in goals (5).  However, despite being amongst the best in the league offensively maybe it’s time for Ikhlas to reconsider their strategy and in the process, sacrifice personal stats for the team.  A good starting point might be the defensive end, where they have given up the most goals against so far this season with 17.   Emaan on the other hand is a tough team to analyze. In their last game, Idrees Deen fired a rocket top-shelf to help ensure his team walked away with at least a point (2-2 tie against Shukr).  However which way do you want to look at this team?  One can take the argument that they are winless in their last two games (two weeks ago they tied Yaqeen 0-0) or one can take the position that they have not lost in two games.  In either event as it stands at the moment they occupy the second spot in the standings.  A win tonight might put Ikhlas so far back in their rear-view mirror that Emaan might not have to worry about missing out in the playoffs for the rest of the season. That said a loss to Ikhlas would cause Emaan’s blood pressure to rise as they start to worry about qualifying for the post-season.

9:00 PM - Sabr vs Haya
This match-up also has the tagline of Maaz Haq vs Waqar Khan.  Don’t get me wrong, there are other notable players from both teams that can factor into this game and could very well play a bigger role than either Haq or Khan. But we aren’t interested in that scenario!  We want Haq and Khan matched up and on the same floor trying to show up the other in a “Whatever you can do I can do better!!” show.  Ultimately, the goal is for the two of them to lead their teams to victory which is all nice and dandy.  However, don’t kid yourself, in the end we will all be talking about the box office matchup of Maaz Haq and Waqar Khan.   This may the first real test for Sabr and their defense, observers are eager to see if they come out of this game with another shutout, their fifth in a row.

10:00 PM - Yaqeen vs Shukr
Oh boy, Yaqeen were embarrassed last week, losing to Sabr 6-0.  Nothing went right for them as they only manage to muster seven shots all game (six in the first half and just one in the second half).  This is the second time in this young season in which Ahmad Mobin has given up six goals.  Last time this happened was back in Week One against Ikhlas.  Yaqeen did well to bounce back from that lost, winning their next game against Haya and tying versus Emaan the week after.  They are going to have to lean on whatever methods they used to rebound from their Week One disaster against Shukr tonight.  Funny enough, Shukr is on a bit of a slide similar to Yaqeen.  If you think about it, two weeks ago they lost 2-1 against Haya and as mentioned above they let a point slip away against Emaan late in the second half last week.  Therefore, they are on a 2-game winless streak.  This game is a pivotal game with respect to the standings.  The loser might find themselves at the very worst in dead last or at the very best in the final playoff spot hanging on for dear life.