8:00 PM- Haya vs Ikhlas:
Battle of Cambridge Round 2! No need to get into specifics about what happened to Haya-grey (lost 4-3 vs Shukr-red) or Ikhlas-green (lost 5-2 vs Sabr) last week, because all that matters is who is going to run Cambridge tonight? When these teams first met back on October 13th, Haya eased to a 6-2 victory. Furqan Salam (3 pts) and Salman Alvi (4 pts) were too much for Ikhlas to handle in their first matchup. Tonight’s game will be a little bit harder than last time for Haya as they will have to battle for Cambridge without Waqar Khan (see News and Rumours). We expect Ikhlas to put up more of a resistance tonight as this game is crucial in their bid to get into the playoffs. You got to think though, F.Salam (the league’s top goal scorer - 8 goals) is licking his chops at the opportunity to be ruthless and retain the Cambridge throne (Salam’s team won the championship last season) and do Ikhlas no favours for their playoff aspirations. It should be noted that Ikhlas’ late season waiver pickup Asaad Darr did not play in the first game, perhaps Darr can rescue Cambridge B one more time (see here)?
9:00 PM- Emaan vs Shukr:
The new must see team, Emaan-orange just got their second straight shutout last Friday against Yaqeen - white (5-0) and have not lost a game since September 22nd! From their perspective they have their eyes set on finishing the season first overall. For this to happen one would have to assume they need to win out their remaining games and hope Sabr-yellow manages to tie or lose in one of their two games left. As well, tonight’s contest could very well represent a first-round matchup. When these two teams first met, it was actually Shukr-red leading the game late into the second half until Idris Deen (see here) came through for his team in the clutch, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Expect Emaan to come out strong in order to send a message to Shukr. For Shukr, they are coming off a huge victory over Haya last week which all but secured their playoff birth. Now they can shift their efforts in trying to finish at least in the top three (they are currently tied with Haya for third overall, but Haya has the tie breaker with more wins), thereby avoid playing the extra wildcard game.
10:00 PM- Yaqeen vs Sabr:
What can I say about this game that isn’t apparent to everyone else? We know that Sabr is looking to finish the season first overall and besides two hiccups against Haya & Emaan, they have been dominant. As for Yaqeen it has been horrible in the manner in which their season has played out. Their offense has been non-existent, last scoring a goal three games ago against Haya (which was an empty net because Kaunain Saiyed got caught up in traffic). Defensively they have been woeful too, giving up 29 goals (2nd behind Ikhlas). In their first meeting Sabr trounced Yaqeen 6-0. Given these team’s recent performance it is hard to imagine Sabr not winning this game. For Yaqeen, they got to throw away these numbers and just come ready to fight because a loss combined with an Ikhlas wins means they won’t get an invitation to the dance.
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