Amman — Substitute Salah Al-Din Farash secured all three points for Al-Hussein Irbid against Al-Faisaly after scoring the only goal in their match at Amman International Stadium on Saturday evening, as part of the seventh round of the Jordanian Pro League.
اضافة اعلان
With the match seemingly heading towards a goalless draw, Farash scored the winner in the third minute of stoppage time, earning his team three valuable points and bringing them back into contention for the top positions.
Al-Hussein climbed to fifth place with 11 points, trailing Al-Baqa'a and Al-Wehdat on goal difference. Al-Faisaly, meanwhile, suffered a setback for the second consecutive round but remained top of the standings with 14 points, despite recording their first league defeat of the season.
Al-Faisaly 0 – Al-Hussein Irbid 1
Al-Faisaly head coach Tarek Mustafa started the match with Abdullah Al-Fakhouri, Anas Badawi, Ihsan Haddad, Hossam Abu Al-Dhahab, Mohammad Haddad, Saidou Simbori, Nour Al-Din Al-Rawabdeh, Salah Al-Yahyai, Majdi Attar, Ahmad Al-Arsan and Claudio Maradona.
Meanwhile, Al-Hussein Irbid head coach Koro Torres relied on Yazeed Abu Layla, Adham Al-Qurashi, Abdullah Naseeb “Diara,” Salim Obeid, Ahmad Assaf, Mahmoud Shawkat, Ahmad Al-Salman, Mohammad Al-Raihi, Youssef Qushi, Aref Al-Haj and Mahmoud Mardi.
The first genuine attempt on goal came from Al-Hussein's Al-Salman, who unleashed a powerful shot from outside the penalty area in the ninth minute. Al-Fakhouri punched it away before Al-Haj fired another powerful effort from a similar distance two minutes later, but his shot went wide.
The following minutes were relatively quiet for both sides until Al-Hussein created a promising opportunity in the 33rd minute. A low cross from Al-Qurashi found Qushi, whose first-time effort from in front of goal went just wide of the post. Al-Raihi then tried his luck from inside the penalty area in the 35th minute, but his effort posed no real threat to Al-Faisaly's goal.
Al-Fakhouri produced an excellent save in the 39th minute, stopping a powerful shot from Mardi inside the penalty area. A minute later, Abu Layla made a mistake when coming off his line, but Al-Arsan's weak long-range effort drifted wide.
Al-Fakhouri was called into action again in the 42nd minute, holding Al-Salman's shot from outside the box as the first half ended goalless.
At the start of the second half, Al-Faisaly's coach made two midfield substitutions to inject more energy into the area, bringing on Jean Ahoua and Ghaith Al-Madadha. Al-Hussein's coach later introduced playmaker Salah Al-Din Farash. Al-Haj then sent two attempts wide in the 59th minute.
Al-Arsan had a clear chance to score in the 62nd minute after breaking through on goal, but his shot went wide. Mustafa responded by bringing on striker Rizq Bani Hani in an attempt to improve his team's attacking effectiveness.
Al-Hussein, meanwhile, were forced into a defensive substitution after Adham Al-Qurashi was injured, with Ali Hijabi replacing him. Ihsan Haddad also sustained an injury and left the pitch, making way for Muhannad Khairallah in Al-Faisaly's line-up.
Al-Hussein continued to press for an opener, with Al-Fakhouri once again producing a fine save to deny Al-Raihi in the 76th minute. Torres then made three substitutions, introducing Masoud Juma, Mahmoud Kharoubeh and Pedro Henrique, while Al-Faisaly brought on Wasim Ryalat.
Ryalat missed a valuable opportunity to put Al-Faisaly ahead in the third minute of stoppage time, as Abu Layla did well to save his shot. The ball then sparked a swift counterattack by Al-Hussein, led by Al-Haj, who passed to Hijabi. Hijabi set up Farash, who fired a left-footed shot into the net in the 90+3rd minute to seal a valuable victory for his team.
Daqra to face Shabab Al-Ordon
The seventh round concludes today with one match between Daqra and Shabab Al-Ordon, scheduled for 6 p.m. at Petra Stadium.
Both teams will be looking to improve their positions in the standings. Daqra have four points, while Shabab Al-Ordon have three and are still searching for their first victory in the competition, having recorded three draws and suffered three defeats.
Shabab Al-Ordon will seek to use the match as an opportunity to move away from the bottom positions following an unsuccessful start under Tunisian coach Walid Al-Shetawi. He began his tenure with a defeat against Al-Wehdat in the previous round. The team will also be without two key players due to injury: Hamza Al-Shamali and Ayham Hisham.
Daqra, meanwhile, will be hoping for a positive result to improve their points tally and move further away from the lower positions. The club's management has appointed Anzor Nafsh, assistant to former coach Ahmad Abdelqader, as head coach for the current stage in an attempt to end the team's recent run of negative results.
Reporting: By Muhannad Jweiles
