Spring Season - Week Nine - March 23rd

- Shukr opened the night with a 3-2 win over Ikhlas to eliminate them from playoff contention, shortbenched Ridha defeated Haya 4-2, Ihsan and Sabr ended in a 3-3 tie and Yaqeen stole a 2-2 tie with Yaqeen.

3 Stars of the Week:1st - Ijaz Chaudhry (Ihsan) - 2 Goals
2nd - Nadeem Faqiri (Ikhlas) - 2 Goals
3rd - The Black Panther (Ridha)- 1 Goal and 2 Assists

Mecca Conference :

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Shukr	8	4	1	3	11	14	9	5
2	Yaqeen	8	3	2	3	9	18	15	3
3	Emaan	8	3	2	3	9	18	21	-3
4	Ikhlas	8	1	5	2	4	12	21	-9

Note: 4^th place does not qualify for the playoffs   

Medina Conference:

RANK	TEAM	GP	WINS	LOSSES	TIES	POINTS	GF	GA	GD
1	Sabr	8	4	1	3	11	19	14	5
2	Ridha	8	3	3	2	8	23	16	7
3	Haya	8	2	3	3	7	11	15	-4
4	Ihsan	8	2	5	1	5	18	22	-4

Note: 4^th place does not qualify for the playoffs   

- With their 3-2 loss against Shukr, Ikhlas has been eliminated from playoffs. Yet if they were in the Medina division they still would have a shot to qualify. Some pundits feel that this team never really recovered from their Week One collapse in the dying seconds against Shukr. Fittingly, it would be Shukr that ended their season with yet another come from behind win in the last few minutes last week, scoring two goals in the final two minutes to steal a win.  

- Emaan had a friendly face on their bench last week as Aazar Zafar made an appearance and showed off his broken foot in a fresh cast.  Ironically he was early for the game, something he never was while healthy.

- Ridha was not expected to win last week as they were drastically short-benched against Haya. A tough spot to be in for a critical game but they put up a great effort and came out with the win which puts Haya in some hot water as Ihsan can catch them with a win combined with a Haya loss in Week Nine. If Ridha and Haya get at least a point combined with an Ihsan loss then Ihsan will not be seeing post-season action.

- Despite the negatives, the trade for Nadeem Faqiri has been a big plus as he has been putting up points for Ikhlas since they acquired him - one wonders what may have been had they made the trade a couple of games earlier in the season.

- Ridha started their game with just two subs on the bench and felt there was a huge mountain to climb but no one seemed to tell Ahmad "The Black Panther" Ibrahim who took control of the game with three points to help lead his team to a critical win.  After the game one of his teammates summed up the performance stating "not all heroes wear capes".

- The league has received feedback about stats not being correct, while we do our best to ensure everything is accurate we also need help from players.  Using a player who has indicated that his stats are wrong on a weekly basis as an example, Yousuf Soliman, it is important to not switch jerseys on a weekly basis as that is what leads to teammates getting credit for your points.  Don't be like Yousuf, don't switch jersey numbers.  If for some reason your jersey number has changed please ensure to note that when you sign in on the scoresheet before your game.

Suspension News:

At the end of the Sabr vs Ihsan game there was an altercation and penalties assessed.  Supplementary discipline from that game is as follows:

• Tayyab Kalair of Ihsan received a warning for rough play and an attempt to throw a punch
• Tariq Hathout of Sabr received a warning for rough play and an attempt to throw a punch
• Ibrahim Khan of Sabr received a One Game Suspension for Leaving the Bench during an altercation

- Week Nine will have some critical games that impact the standings, in the Mecca Conference all three teams having a chance for first place.  In the Medina Conference the feature match-up will be Ridha vs Ihsan where old rivals collide.  If Ridha wins they would clinch a playoff spot and nearly end the playoff hopes for Ihsan.  

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