Amman — Al-Faisaly striker Ahmad Al-Ersan led his team to a valuable 1-0 win over Al-Salt, in the match held yesterday evening at Amman International Stadium, closing out the fourth round of the Pro League.
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The 47th minute saw referee Ahmad Yaqoub disallow a goal for Al-Faisaly scored by Brazilian striker Claudio Maradona, despite television footage showing him in an onside position at the moment teammate Anas Al-Awadat played the ball, before Al-Ersan snatched the winning goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Al-Faisaly raised its tally to 10 points, moving alone to the top of the standings, while Al-Salt's tally remained frozen at 4 points, slipping to eighth place.
In the other match, Al-Ramtha squandered two valuable points in the title race, after drawing goalless with Doqara, in the match held at King Abdullah II Stadium in Al-Quwaismeh.
Al-Ramtha failed to capitalize on its opponent's numerical disadvantage from the end of the first half onward, remaining in second place with 8 points, while Doqara moved up to seventh place after raising its tally to 4 points.
Al-Salt 0 — Al-Faisaly 1
The match saw the absence of Al-Salt players Omar Hani and Ahmad Al-Awawdeh, on loan from Al-Faisaly, after the club issued an explanatory statement affirming their absence was for ethical reasons, while striker Khaled Isam was absent due to injury.
Al-Salt head coach Raed Assaf fielded a lineup including Ahmad Jaidi, Suhaib Al-Qadi, Abdi Berry, Hossam Abu Saada, Faisal Abu Shanab, Yazan Abdel-Aal, Saleh Freij, Abdulrahman Al-Khudour, Suleiman Babayondi, Mohammad Abdelmottaleb "Pogba," and Kalu Onyemaechi.
On the other side, Al-Faisaly head coach Tarek Mostafa relied on Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Anas Badawi, Ihsan Haddad, Hossam Abu Al-Dahab, Mohammad Haddad, Saidou Simpore, Noor Al-Din Al-Rawabdeh, Salah Al-Yahyai, Anas Al-Awadat, Ahmad Al-Ersan, and Rizq Bani Hani.
The opening minutes saw mutual attempts that didn't rise to the level of genuine danger, amid solid defensive lines and standout performances from both goalkeepers, while Al-Faisaly's players protested the failure to award a penalty in Al-Ersan's favor, after he was fouled by Abu Saada inside the box in the 15th minute.
Al-Salt continued relying on attacking transitions to threaten Al-Faisaly's goal, with its most dangerous attempt coming in the 35th minute, with a grounded shot from Babayondi from outside the box that went just wide of goal.
Al-Fakhouri brilliantly cleared a header from Onyemaechi in the 45th minute, before Haddad intervened in stoppage time to clear a powerful shot from Babayondi in front of goal, with the first half ending in a goalless draw.
At the start of the second half, Al-Faisaly's coach brought on Brazilian striker Claudio Maradona for the first time, leaving his mark quickly after finding the net in the 47th minute, but referee Ahmad Yaqoub disallowed the goal based on a signal from the VAR booth.
The right post of Al-Salt's goal denied a powerful shot from Al-Awadat in the 56th minute, before Al-Fakhouri kept out a shot from Al-Khudour in the 59th minute.
Al-Faisaly responded with a dangerous attempt through Maradona, who struck a ball toward Jaidi in the 63rd minute, before defender Abu Shanab cleared it off the goal line for a corner, while Jaidi brilliantly denied a close-range attempt from substitute Jean Ahoua in the 71st minute.
The 79th minute saw both goalkeepers shine, with Al-Fakhouri catching a header from Onyemaechi, while Jaidi cleared a shot from substitute Majdi Attar for a corner.
Attar returned to threaten Al-Salt's goal in the 81st minute with a header that Jaidi successfully cleared, before the latter denied a header from substitute Ahmad Abdo Rabbo in the first minute of stoppage time.
With the match heading toward a goalless draw, Al-Ersan snatched the killer winning goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time, after receiving a precise cross from teammate Haddad from the right side, and converting it with his head to Jaidi's right, leading Al-Faisaly to its third consecutive win and sole possession of the top of the table.
Al-Ramtha 0 — Doqara 0
Al-Ramtha failed to continue its winning streak, settling for a goalless draw against neighbors Doqara, with each team taking a point in their first match following the international break.
Al-Ramtha kept a clean sheet for the third consecutive match, while Doqara avoided defeat for the second match running.
Al-Ramtha head coach Radon Jasanin started the match with a lineup including Murad Al-Falouji, Abdullah Al-Muneiss, Abdulrahman Al-Draisat, Youssef Hassan, Serge Bagou, Mohammad Khalil, Aziz Ouseini, Hussein Al-Rashdan, Seif Al-Din Darwish, Alfousseini Jassama, and Abdullah Al-Shaibat.
On the other side, Doqara coach Ahmad Abdel Qader relied on Aseel Al-Sayyahin, Ward Al-Barri, Omar Al-Khatib, Laith Abu Rahal, Ahmad Qatmish, Ahmad Tanous, Mohammad Bani Khaled, Baba Diamy, Mohammad Bani Attiyah, Hamza Al-Saifi, and Fares Ghataisha.
The two teams exchanged attacking attempts during the first half, before its final moments saw an important turning point, after referee Ahmad Al-Khawaldeh consulted VAR and decided to show a red card to Doqara's Ahmad Tanous, for striking Al-Ramtha's Ouseini in the face away from the ball.
Despite playing the second half with a numerical advantage, Al-Ramtha couldn't capitalize on its opponent's disadvantage, given the defensive solidity and resilience shown by Doqara's players until the final whistle.
Jasanin made several substitutions in search of breaking through his opponent's defense and securing all three points, but his attempts didn't succeed, leaving Al-Ramtha to settle for a single point and fail to achieve its third consecutive win.
Resource: Al-Ghad. Reporting: Muhannad Jweiles
