Week Eleven - May 6th

- Week Ten saw the playoff picture clear up, Ikhlas and Ihsan both won their games putting the pressure on Sabr to win to keep the race alive but their loss results in their elimination.

- Emaan came into Week Ten knowing they had already wrapped up first place and attributed their loss to Ikhlas as the expected letdown as they really don’t have much to play for at this point.  Ikhlas on the other hand needed to come out strong and the win kept them in 4th place

- Ihsan is heating up at the right time, with their big 1-0 win over Shukr last week the team is now undefeated in their last four games and have clinched the 5th seed for the playoffs.  The early struggles seem long gone as the teams’ “Dark Knight” Ahmad Hathout has found his rhythm.  He was shut out last week and falls to 0/9 in his quest to score the fastest goal but his contributions to the teams success are clear.

- With Haya’s struggles well documented of late, they got a late surprise boost as Waqar Khan made his return against Sabr last week.  Khan had just returned from an overseas trip and with limited rest showed up to lead his team to their first win in five games and as a result lock up a top three finish.

- Saqib Khokhar got the winner for Ikhlas against his old team, Emaan, which was surely a bit of sweet revenge for the quick forward who was part of the surprise trade for Arif Bijabhai earlier this season.

- Shukr lost their first game since Kashif Taqiuddin was lost for the season due to injury.  The team knows that they will still have Coach K behind the bench but he was the teams leading scorer and played heavy minutes holding the defence together so the team will need to fill that gap right before the playoffs begin.

- Players from Haya noted that with the return of Waqar Khan suddenly other players were hanging around the dressing room to be near him.  Sajid Khan of Sabr going as far as to change for his game in Haya's dressing room while Wakaas Khan, Ahmad Hathout and Amir Multani all awkwardly hung around trying to chat up Haya's captain.  

- Not to be forgotten in the recent run for Ihsan is the performance of Zaid Majoo who incredibly picked up his fourth shutout for the team.  Majoo has given the team confidence to push forward aggressively knowing that he will bail them out.

- Sabr went into their game against Haya knowing that only a win would keep their playoff hopes alive, but a short bench to start the game allowed Haya to take an early lead.  Sabr did fight back and managed to tie the game with 47 seconds left in the first half but penalties hurt them as Azhar Kalair scored his second Powerplay goal of the game to give Haya the win.

- With the loss Sabr is now eliminated from postseason play, no denying the talent this team has but injuries and player absences cost them points and they were never able to recover.  One game remains which is a rematch with Haya but a win still leaves the team in last place.  #ViewsFromSixth

Player of the Game Video’s:
Shukr vs Ihsan - Not Available as the team was busy celebrating their playoff spot
Ikhlas vs Emaan - Not Available as the team was busy celebrating their playoff spot
Haya vs Sabr - Not Available as the team was busy celebrating their playoff spot