Week Two - February 20th

• It was billed as Cambridge One vs Cambridge Two - or as one Ikhlas player put it, Cambridge One vs Emaan / Ikhlas vs Cambridge Two.  What it turned into was a pre-Valentine's Day massacre as Ikhlas seemed anything but the team that won last Spring.  Unable to get the ball out of their zone, they were outshot 24-5 in the first half but trailed only 2-1 thanks to the heroics of Ibad Khan.  The second half was much the same and the final score of 5-2 flattered Ikhlas who were outshot 43-13 for the game and it was only Khan who kept this from being a blowout

• Emaan looked strong as all three lines were flying, the only hiccup was the late announcement that starting goalie Sadiq Rehman was scratched with a wrist injury but he was capably replaced by Sheraz Mahmood in this game

• Ikhlas was missing some key players on D and it showed, when they have all their players it will be a better opportunity to gauge their team because this game was ugly

• Umair Ashraf of Emaan was distracted going into the big Cambridge game and was seen putting together this fan video for his favourite Bollywood Star participating in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game

• Zaid Toorawa of Sabr is recognized for his offensive talents, his defensive skills leave something to be desired as he seemed to be trying to create offensive chances at both ends of the arena; best highlighted by his centering pass to an opposing Shukr forward in the final minutes of their match-up that ended in a tie

• Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin made his return after a lengthy layoff due to a serious knee injury, many thought his career was over but after a strong debut for Emaan with two assists and an end-to-end rush where he stepped through multiple Ikhlas players it seems like the only thing he lost in the layoff was his stamina as he described himself as being in poor conditioning.  Thankfully he didn't show up to the Emaan camp looking like this.  If Coach K can bring his leadership to Emaan then this season is already looking great for them.

• Waseem Bangash made an appearance last week, it was unclear if he was hoping to be added as a replacement player or looking to get his feet wet coaching Sabr after seeing the success Coach K had on Haya last Fall season

• Haya defeated Ihsan 3-2 or as one observer noted, the Malik's defeated the Soliman's

• Rizwan Malik seemed to be showing no ill-effects from the injury he suffered in the Fall Season and picked up an assist in his return which was great to see

• Sabr was playing shorthanded against Shukr but managed to get a tie, missing their top two picks in Yousuf Sowdagar and Atif Mian, Sowdagar is injured so they will be without him for a few games still while Mian was a late scratch as his family welcomed the birth of a baby girl - Congats to Atif and his family!