An altercation during the Ihsan vs. Sabr game in which 4 players were issued Game Misconducts. After the OC reviewed the incident, the following individuals were suspended:
- Ali Wadee (Ihsan) - 3 games
- Yousuf Soliman (Sabr) - 2 games
- Tariq Ayubi (Ihsan) - 1 game
- Akib Malik (Sabr) - 1 game
All parties appealed their suspensions and the OC reduced the suspensions issued to Ali Wadee (reduced to 2 game suspension) and Yousuf Soliman (reduced to 1 game suspension). The rest of the suspensions stand.
This is a reminder to all players that we will continue to take these incidents seriously.
We would also like to warn players on all teams to never leave their bench during an altercation - even if they were in the midst of a line change. Leaving the bench during an altercation is an automatic 5 game suspension, as doing so endangers the safety of the officials.
Sabr vs. Emaan
10PM
We said that Emaan would be desperate coming into last week's game and they responded with a 6 goal explosion over Ibad Khan and the Taqwa brigades. Emaan GM Salman Khalid explained it as such: "all the bounces we weren't getting in all the other games, we got today".
While there might be some truth to Khalid's analysis, he may have been too modest. It looks as though Hassan Badreddine has really begun to mesh with his team and was pivotal in the creation of a few of their goals. But perhaps the most important factor in the game was that more and more of Emaan's players were showing confidence, with Umair Awan breaking out with a 3 goal night. Imagine how good Emaan will look when Arif Bijabhai and Ahmad Hathout break out of their slumps.
The night was completely reversed for Sabr. While Emaan forced the mercy rule on their opponents, Sabr had to fight back from a 5-0 deficit to keep the clock from running out. Sabr captain Gehad Alhundi scored a couple of goals in the waning moments of the game but there's no question that his team did not come out to play.
Sabr has completed a trade sending injured player Umar Muhammad to Taqwa for Saqib Ali (Taqwa will replace Umar via waivers). Meanwhile, Sabr is also hoping to see the debut of Nayu Akbar as well. Unfortunately, with the loss of Yousuf Soliman and Akib Malik for the game, Sabr will be under the gun to keep up with Emaan's legs.
Sabr best chance at success will be with playing tough defense, limiting the opponents chances and besting them at special teams. Meanwhile, Emaan will need to try to run Sabr through the ground with their run game.
Player to Watch: Zayd Agjee has the worst save percentage in the league but some of that is because he's not seeing a lot of shots. It's tough for a goalie to be sharp when he isn't seeing action for long portions of the game, but ultimately it's on Zayd to be better. His team does depend heavily on him.
Who's Hot: Gehad Alhundi scored twice last week and will need to continue to produce as his team depends on him, now more than ever.
Taqwa vs. Ihsan
11PM
Just like Sabr's expected manpower loss, Ihsan is expecting to miss Omar Sabri and Usama Mahmood along with Tariq Ayubi and Ali Wadee (due to suspensions). That's four of Ihsan's top players missing while Taqwa is reeling off a bad loss last week against Emaan. That's what people might call a perfect storm.
Taqwa is also expected to add Belal Hafeez after trading Saqib Ali to Sabr for injured player Umar Muhammad. Muhammad's injury is suspected to be more emotional than physical (week to week with a bruised ego).
Nevertheless, the addition of Hafeez should give Taqwa some interested options, allowing them to dress Farooq Khan or Sami Choudhry at forward if they want to. That might give Taqwa some interesting looks for the opposition to deal with.
Ihsan, playing without their full compliment of talent, will need to outwork their opponents if they want a chance to pull some points out of this match-up. If the game turns into a grind, it'll favour Ihsan. This is a big test for Ihsan, and they'll get a good look at what their depth really looks like.
Player to Watch: Forward or defense, Sami Choudhry is always capable of burning the other teams. He roams all over the floor, regardless of position, and only needs one look to score.
Who's Hot: Omar Husain has 5 points in his last two games and is starting to really settle in. He'll need to keep stepping up, especially with so many teammates missing this week.
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