Wihdat snatch clear lead as league heads into final 5 weeks

AMMAN — Wihdat face Ahli and seem poised to retain the lead with the aim of retaking the title as Week 18 of the Jordan Professional Football League kicks off on Thursday.

Wihdat’s 2-0 win over Baqa’a boosted their lead as Ramtha were held 0-0 with Shabab Urdun and had their chase slashed.

Ramtha next play Faisali, who are still fourth, as their match with Ahli was postponed, while Jazira taking on Manshieh as both teams played the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

Shabab Urdun are fifth and next play Baqa’a while Ahli who stayed sixth have a tough one against Wihdat. That Ras who climbed to seventh after they beat Aqaba 1-0 as the latter dropped to last, next play Hussein who need to win and move out of the relegation zone.

This week, Jazira beat Oman’s Suweiq 3-2 while Faisali beat Oman’s Dhofar 2-0 in stage 3 of the 15th AFC Cup. Both teams boosted their leads atop groups A and C as the two Jordanian clubs now lead the second-tier Asian club competition after Jazira held Iraqi Air Force Club 2-2 and beat Bahrain’s Malikieh 1-0, while Faisali held Syria’s Wihdeh 2-2 and upset Lebanon’s Ansar 3-1.

So far this season, reigning league and Jordan Cup champs Faisali beat Jazira to win the 35th Jordan Super Cup. Wihdat beat Jazira to win the Jordan Football Association Shield. In the Jordan Cup, Jazira ousted Faisali while Shabab Urdun eliminated Wihdat to reach the final.

Last season, Faisali won their 33rd league title after a four-year break and combined it with the Jordan Cup. Ahli beat reigning league champs Wihdat to win the Super Cup, Shabab Urdun beat Faisali to win their second Shield title after they first won in 2007. Sarih and Sahab were r

elegated and replaced by Aqaba and Yarmouk from the First Division.