Amman — The second-round matches of the First Division Football League revealed early signs of a competition that appears wide open in more than one direction, after Al-Yarmouk and Amman FC continued their strong start, managing to preserve a perfect record of 6 points each, at a time when the round saw a notable rise in the scoring rate and a decline in the number of outright wins, in favor of a striking number of draws.
اضافة اعلان
At the end of the second round, Al-Yarmouk and Amman FC share the top of the standings with 6 points each, followed by Jerash and Al-Hashimiyya with 4 points, then Ittihad Al-Ramtha with 3 points, Ma'an and Sahl Hauran with 2 points each, while Al-Ahli, Al-Sarih, Al-Sarhan, and Hay Al-Amir Hassan each hold 1 point, while Shabab Al-Aqaba remains without any points.
Second-round matches produced 15 goals across 6 matches, an average of 2.5 goals per match, raising the tournament's overall goal tally after two rounds to 26. The first round had seen 11 goals scored, accounting for 42.3 percent of the total goals, while the second round saw 15 goals scored, at 57.7 percent, an increase of 4 goals over the first round, and a rise of 36.4 percent.
The scoring rate also rose from 1.83 goals per match in the first round to 2.5 goals in the second round, an indicator of rising attacking effectiveness as the competition progresses, while the first round saw 5 wins against a single draw, before the second round became closer, with 4 matches ending in draws against two wins, including two goalless draws.
On attacking numbers, Ittihad Al-Ramtha has the strongest attack, having scored 7 goals in two matches, while players from Al-Sarih, Al-Ahli, Hay Al-Amir Hassan, and Al-Sarhan have failed to score a single goal across both rounds.
By contrast, Shabab Al-Aqaba has the weakest defense, having conceded 7 goals, while Jerash, Al-Hashimiyya, Al-Sarih, and Al-Ahli have each conceded just one goal. The second round also saw the tournament's first hat-trick, scored by Amman FC's Mohammad Al-Jawhari, who scored three goals against Shabab Al-Aqaba, leaving his mark on a round that saw the highest scoring rate since the competition began.
In another development, the second round marked the return of Princess Haya bint Al Hussein Stadium in Ma'an to hosting First Division League matches, after years of absence, as it hosted the match between Ma'an and Al-Hashimiyya, bringing the stadium back into the domestic competitive scene after a period of absence, a step that strengthens the presence of stadiums across various governorates and gives the competition broader geographic and fan reach.
According to the tournament format, the competition is held as a single-stage league, with the top two teams qualifying for next season's Pro League, while the bottom four teams are relegated to the Second Division, raising the value of every point in upcoming rounds, whether for teams seeking promotion or those looking to move away from the relegation zone.
In the second round's numerical results, Al-Yarmouk maintained its perfect record, defeating Ittihad Al-Ramtha 2-1, in the match held between them at Prince Hashem Stadium in Al-Ramtha, raising Al-Yarmouk's tally to 6 points, while Ittihad Al-Ramtha remained at 3 points.
Al-Yarmouk went ahead with an early goal scored by Ghaith Ali Al-Athamneh in the 7th minute, before Abdulrahman Al-Azayzeh equalized for Ittihad Al-Ramtha in the 25th minute, only for Mahmoud Diab Fritekh to secure the match for Al-Yarmouk with the second goal in the 59th minute.
In another match, Amman FC secured a wide 5-3 win over Shabab Al-Aqaba, in the match held at Aqaba Development Stadium, raising its tally to 6 points, while Shabab Al-Aqaba remained without any points.
Amman FC imposed its dominance from the start, with Mohammad Al-Jawhari scoring three goals in the 5th, 26th, and 43rd minutes, Ahmad Saadeh adding the fourth goal in the 34th minute, and Rakan Muayyad Al-Mahmoud the fifth goal in the 67th minute, while Shabab Al-Aqaba's goals came from Ammar Abu Asia in the 11th minute, Ibrahim Sayel Al-Khawaldeh in the 57th minute, and Ibrahim Al-Rawwad in the 80th minute.
In the round's remaining matches, Hay Al-Amir Hassan drew goalless with Al-Sarhan, and Al-Sarih and Al-Ahli's match ended with the same result, with each team taking a point. Ma'an drew 1-1 with Al-Hashimiyya, with Al-Hashimiyya going ahead through Osama Fahmawi's goal in the 80th minute, before Hussein Al-Maharmeh snatched the equalizer for Ma'an in the 6th minute of stoppage time. The match between Jerash and Sahl Hauran also ended 1-1, with Sahl Hauran going ahead through Ahmad Mousa Al-Issawi's goal in the 19th minute, before Yazan Shawkat Musleh equalized for Jerash in the 44th minute.
Third-round matches kick off next Thursday, with two matches held at the same time, 7:00 PM, as Ittihad Al-Ramtha faces Al-Sarhan at Prince Hashem Stadium in Al-Ramtha, and Al-Yarmouk faces Amman FC at Prince Mohammad Stadium in Zarqa.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Yahya Qteishat
