Al-Salt held visitors Al-Wehdat to a 0-0 draw at Amman International Stadium in Al-Hussein Youth City yesterday, in the closing match of the second round of the Pro League. The result moves Al-Salt up to 4 points, while Al-Wehdat remain stuck on 2.
اضافة اعلان
In the round's other fixture, Al-Ramtha overcame playing a man down against Al-Arabi, bouncing back with a 1-0 win, scored by professional player Gassama from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute, in a match held at King Abdullah II Stadium in Al-Quwaismeh. The win moves Al-Ramtha up to 4 points, while Al-Arabi remain pointless.
Al-Salt 0 - Al-Wehdat 0
Al-Salt coach Raed Assaf started the match with a lineup of Ahmad Al-Ju'aidi in goal, Hossam Abu Saada, Suhaib Al-Qadi, Yazan Abdel Al, Omar Hani, Kalu Onyemaechi, Khaled Issam, Saleh Fraij, Faisal Abu Shanab, Abdi Biri, and Suleiman Babayondi.
Al-Wehdat coach Waseem Al-Bzour, meanwhile, relied on Mohammad Al-Amwasi in goal, Arafat Al-Hajj, Mustafa Kazaar, Fawzi Abdel Muttalib, Mohammad Al-Mawali, Mahmoud Abu Warda, Sambou Junior, Hamza Al-Naim, Shawki Al-Qaza'a, Titi, and Mohammad Ratib.
Al-Wehdat pushed forward from the opening minutes in search of the first goal, before Sambou fired a low shot from inside the box in the 8th minute, which Al-Ju'aidi managed to gather.
The match settled into a quiet spell with no real danger to either goal, before Onyemaechi's shot in the 27th minute went narrowly wide of Al-Amwasi's goal.
Babayondi then fired a powerful shot from the edge of the box, with Al-Amwasi producing a fine save to clear it in the 34th minute, and the first half ended goalless.
Early in the second half, both teams searched for the opener without much real threat, before Al-Naim squandered a clear chance after receiving a cross from Kazaar and firing it just wide of the left post in the 57th minute.
Onyemaechi also wasted a chance to put Al-Salt ahead, heading a cross from teammate Al-Khudour over Al-Amwasi's goal from inside the six-yard box in the 83rd minute, and the match ended goalless, with both sides settling for a point apiece.
Al-Ramtha 1 - Al-Arabi 0
Al-Ramtha's Croatian head coach Radun Jasanin fielded a lineup of goalkeeper Murad Al-Faloji, Abdul Rahman Al-Draysa, Yousef Hassan, Majd Al-Zoubi, Hussein Al-Rashdan, Mohammad Bani Doumi, Abdullah Al-Menaiseh, Aziz Ousseini, Mohammad Abdul Karim, Gassama, and Saif Darwish.
Al-Arabi head coach Imad Rashad, meanwhile, started Rashid Rafid, Yousef Al-Rawashdeh, Nestor Ndami, Mohammad Al-Razem, Bakr Kalboneh, Ahmad Al-Suleim, Baba Car, Sekou Sagna, Mo'taz Obeidat, Yazan Al-Gharableh, and Ali Al-Mashahreh.
Al-Ramtha showed their attacking intent from the referee Marwan Ismail's opening whistle, thanks to the movement of Majd Al-Zoubi, Abdullah Al-Menaiseh, Gassama, and Saif Darwish, who quickly threatened Rashid Rafid's goal after skillfully getting past an Al-Arabi defender and going one-on-one with the goalkeeper, firing a powerful shot that Rafid brilliantly kept out, who then also responded fully to a Gassama effort.
Al-Arabi gradually worked their way into the game, thanks to the experience of Yousef Al-Rawashdeh, Mohammad Al-Razem, and Sagna, and the movement of Bakr Kalboneh, who rose to meet a cross and headed it powerfully, only for Al-Faloji to brilliantly tip it over for a corner, keeping the tactical battle going, before Al-Ramtha's Yousef Hassan received a red card for impeding Yousef Al-Rawashdeh.
Al-Arabi looked to capitalize on their numerical advantage, diversifying their attacking options, while Al-Ramtha's coach made defensively minded substitutions. Still, Al-Arabi came close to scoring through professional Sagna, who followed up a corner kick, only for Al-Faloji to brilliantly clear it, and the first half ended goalless.
The tactical battle between Croatian coach Radun Jasanin and Jordanian coach Imad Rashad intensified through substitutions reflecting their tactical intentions to secure the points. Al-Arabi showed attacking activity, trying to snatch the opener quickly against a resilient Al-Ramtha defense, which nearly got breached by a long-range effort from Baba Car that went over Rashid Rafid's goal.
Al-Ramtha continued to "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee," relying on a compact defense from midfield and quick counter-attacks, with Ousseini firing a powerful low shot that went just wide of Rafid's goal. Al-Arabi's defense didn't take Al-Ramtha's threat seriously enough, until the 70th minute, when Al-Ramtha won a penalty, awarded by referee Marwan Ismail after Al-Arabi defender Nestor Ndami fouled Al-Ramtha striker Gassama inside the box. The penalty was confirmed after a VAR review, and Gassama converted it successfully to Al-Arabi goalkeeper Rafid's right, putting Al-Ramtha ahead in the 73rd minute.
The match continued to be eventful, with Al-Arabi's coach bringing on several substitutes to improve his team's attacking options, against a solid Al-Ramtha defense and a standout performance from goalkeeper Murad Al-Faloji, who made a heroic save off the crossbar to deny a powerful effort from Bakr Kalboneh, and also denied a shot from substitute Omar Mubarak. Tension rose further in stoppage time, set at 6 minutes, when referee Ismail went back to VAR after a fall involving Al-Ramtha defender Ahmad Al-Maghribi. After reviewing the incident, the referee overturned the penalty decision and booked Mubarak, ending the match with an important 1-0 win for a ten-man Al-Ramtha.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Mustafa Ballou and Mohammad Arabiyat
