- Week Three saw Ikhlas continue to dominate as they rolled their record to 3-0, Emaan bounce back from a Week Two loss to rout shorthanded Ikhlas and Sabr get their first point of the season against Haya making their debut
- Haya had the unusual schedule with being off the first two weeks of the season and may have worked against them as while Sabr has struggled to start the year they have two games under their belt to built some chemistry and built a 2-0 lead in the first half. The second half saw Haya make a comeback as their top line of Aazar Zafar, Hisham Ali and Mehmed Rizvanovic impose their will as the line scored to goals to tie the game up.
- Haya got a better effort from rookie goalie Imran Merchant who is making a transition from being a star softball player. Merchant is known for his great glove and arm in softball along with being a power switch hitter but only one of those skills will help him in goal.
- Ikhlas knew that going into their game against Emaan it was going to be tough missing two key defensemen in Salman Khalid and Umair Ashraf and it showed especially during the second half when Emaan broke the game open. Khalid is reportedly overseas in Spain to audition as Cristiano Ronaldo's stunt double. The absence of Ashraf is unclear as he was said to be in Chicago fulfilling the obligations of his beard modelling contract but rumours circulated that after he advised his team that he intended to take a knee during the opening talk in solidarity with his Cambridge friends and that games opponents he became a healthy scratch.
- Emaan got a big game from Waqar Khan who posted a hat trick against Ikhlas, after his first goal, a teammate commented that Khan looked like he was a video game player who was on speed burst after blowing by the defense to score. Furqan Salam had a big game with a goal and three assists while Zaid Toorawa added a goal and two assists as Emaan's top line did all of the damage in this game.
- Ikhlas has seen their offense struggle out of the game with only three goals in their first three game, observers are looking for Atif Mian to provide a greater spark to the team but he has come into the season with conditioning issues. When he first joined the league he was described as being two years away from being two years away so he should have blossomed into a star by now.
- Lost in the winless start for Ikhlas has been the play of Rahil Ahmed who has kept his team from being blown out in all their games and while the scoreline last week may not reflect it, Ahmed kept his team in it until the second half where Emaan scored multiple breakaway goals or converted odd man rushes. Ahmed came into the season as one of the stronger goalies and gives his team a chance to win any night.
- Yaqeen came into the season with a a number of talented young players with strong veterans to support them and the result has been a dominant 3-0 start to the season. In their game last week, Humza Chaudhry, Arslan Mian and Sajjid Ayubi were a force as they tore through the Shukr defense for chance after chance.
- Shukr were missing some depth on defense but their system along with the play of Kaunain Saiyed kept the game within reach the entire way. Kashif "Coach K" Taqiuddin was the player of the game for his team as he carried his teams defense core once again.
- Next week sees Yaqeen on a bye as all other teams hope the break cools them off, Ikhlas faces Haya where a win gets Ikhlas out of the basement. Emaan faces Sabr where the former looks to jump into a first place tie with a win. Ihsan faces Shukr where Ihsan is also looking to jump into a first place tie with a win -Coach K has stated that he will hold Ihsan's Amir Multani in check tonight.
- Finally a reminder that home teams are responsible for recaps, for players that complain they don't see their name in lights enough consider this an opportunity to tell everyone how great you are.
Friday, 28 October 2016
Week Three - October 21st
-Home Teams are responsible for recaps. Week 3 Home Teams: Haya, Emaan and Yaqeen
-Trade deadline has been set to November 23rd at 7:00 pm. Will a gm be bold enough to break up their core group if it means giving their team a better shot at the championship?
-Contrary to popular belief, all teams don’t make the playoffs. The last place team goes home. Also the first two teams get a bye.
-There has been talk of doing an all-star game with another league. This is to first and foremost reward attendance (need to play at least 7 games to qualify) and top performers of the regular season. Talks have been preliminary so keep making dua!
-How good has Hany Soliman (IHSN) been? 2 straight weeks being selected by the refs as one of the three stars; Week 1’s First Star and Week 2’s Third Star. Scoring 4 of his teams 5 goals. Nothing seems to be slowing him down so maybe being off in Week 3 does the rest of the league a favour
- WEEK 2 2ND STAR: YAQEEN- Humza Chaudry 3G, GWG
- WEEK 2 1ST STAR: Shukr- Idris Deen, 3G & 1 A
-You snooze you lose Mr. Soliman. Yaqeen’s Hamza Chaudry gets a chance to take the lead in the goal scoring race.
-As mentioned in the previews Yaqeen has been one of the most if not the most impressive teams we seen so far this season.
-On that note, we haven’t see Haya. Welcome to the show! What you have for us? Huzaifa Manjra ran the table last year picking up two I-slam championships. He begins the quest to remind the league that this is still his kingdom.
-I feel obliged to mention that Ihsan’s Zaid Majoo came up with 2 break away saves to help preserve the victory for Ihsan. You probably didn’t read about it though because of the jerk move. Another friendly reminder that Home teams are responsible for recaps.
-Emaan’s Zaid Toorawa and Umair Awan has notched 2 goals in 2 games.
-This team seems to be drawing a lot of penalties; After going 0-5 on the PP in Week 1, Emaan had some success on the PP in Week 2.
-Ikhlas’ Salman Khalid will be in Spain. Huge blow to Ikhlas this week
-Shukr put up 6 goals against Sabr. The most by any team so far.
-Sabr has had a poor star. Luckily for them they Ikhlas also haven’t won either. Both teams are desperate to get out of the basement and get their seasons back on track.
Week Two - October 14th
-At the draft goaltenders were at a high premium 5 of the 7 goaltenders gone by round 3.
-Konain Saiyed (Shukr) down but not out came up with a ridiculous glove save
-Waqar Khan (Emaan) had a game to forget with an own goal almost costing his team. Lucky for him, team mate Zaid Toorawa capitalize on a poor clearing attempt from Shukr.
-Gotta feel bad for Shukr, sometimes the better team does not necessarily win; outplayed Emaan in Week 1 but ultimately lost the game
- Imran Merchant (Sabr) had a rough start to his I-Slam career. Again chicken or the egg? Did the Sabr defense support him well enough?
-Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) is this year’s 1st overall pick. There is a lot of pressure that comes with it. Not only are you a targeted player but you need to out-perform the entire league to justify that tag. Held pointless in Week 1
-Shukr is hoping Arif Bijabhai & Idris Deen , the first two picks in this year’s draft are able to become a dynamic duo
.
-According to a survey administered shortly after the draft, voters believe Ihsan is well poised to host the championship in a couple of months. Some believe, Emaan, Yaqeen & Haya are also contenders. Being written off at the start are Shukr, Ikhlas and Sabr, all three lost their opening game.
-Player that have new teams:
1) Ikhlas trades Walied Soliman to Ihsan for Hasan Khalid
2) Haya trades Tayyab Kalair & Asim Hussain to Yaqeen for Rehan Rehan Majid Lakhani & Munaf Nathalia
3) Mubashir Malik clears waivers, he replaces Ali Malik on Sabr
-Ahmad Hathout made a special appearance and after watching Waqar Khan (Emaan) play it was off in his batmobile to save Gotham.
-Sabr needs to be better, 11 shots won’t cut it. Likewise for Ikhals, THREE shots in a half, there is no excuse/
-Seriously, it goes against all logic... how did Emaan win against Shukr?
-If Week 1 is any indication Week ONE 3RD STAR Rahil Ahmed goaltender for Ikhlas will be a busy man this season
- WEEK ONE 2ND STAR: Sajjid Ayubi (YAQEEN) putting up 1G & 2A against Sabr
- WEEK 1 1ST STAR- Hany Soliman (IHSAN)- 2 Goals with one being the GWG
-Konain Saiyed (Shukr) down but not out came up with a ridiculous glove save
-Waqar Khan (Emaan) had a game to forget with an own goal almost costing his team. Lucky for him, team mate Zaid Toorawa capitalize on a poor clearing attempt from Shukr.
-Gotta feel bad for Shukr, sometimes the better team does not necessarily win; outplayed Emaan in Week 1 but ultimately lost the game
- Imran Merchant (Sabr) had a rough start to his I-Slam career. Again chicken or the egg? Did the Sabr defense support him well enough?
-Arif Bijabhai (Shukr) is this year’s 1st overall pick. There is a lot of pressure that comes with it. Not only are you a targeted player but you need to out-perform the entire league to justify that tag. Held pointless in Week 1
-Shukr is hoping Arif Bijabhai & Idris Deen , the first two picks in this year’s draft are able to become a dynamic duo
.
-According to a survey administered shortly after the draft, voters believe Ihsan is well poised to host the championship in a couple of months. Some believe, Emaan, Yaqeen & Haya are also contenders. Being written off at the start are Shukr, Ikhlas and Sabr, all three lost their opening game.
-Player that have new teams:
1) Ikhlas trades Walied Soliman to Ihsan for Hasan Khalid
2) Haya trades Tayyab Kalair & Asim Hussain to Yaqeen for Rehan Rehan Majid Lakhani & Munaf Nathalia
3) Mubashir Malik clears waivers, he replaces Ali Malik on Sabr
-Ahmad Hathout made a special appearance and after watching Waqar Khan (Emaan) play it was off in his batmobile to save Gotham.
-Sabr needs to be better, 11 shots won’t cut it. Likewise for Ikhals, THREE shots in a half, there is no excuse/
-Seriously, it goes against all logic... how did Emaan win against Shukr?
-If Week 1 is any indication Week ONE 3RD STAR Rahil Ahmed goaltender for Ikhlas will be a busy man this season
- WEEK ONE 2ND STAR: Sajjid Ayubi (YAQEEN) putting up 1G & 2A against Sabr
- WEEK 1 1ST STAR- Hany Soliman (IHSAN)- 2 Goals with one being the GWG
Saturday, 17 September 2016
Week Sixteen - Spring Season Wrap-Up
- Game Two of the finals ended regulation in a 2-2 tie and pushed to Overtime where Yousuf Sowdagar scored with just 41 seconds left to give Emaan the Championship. Haya built a 2-0 lead off goals from Farooq Sani and Waqar Khan but Emaan kept up the pressure and a power play goal from Huzaifa Manjra with just under 10 minutes left in regulation gave them a lifeline leading to Gehad Al-Hundi scoring the equalizer with just over a minute left to tie it up.
- Both teams had their full squads out for the championship game, for Haya this included injured players Rayhan Malik and Ozair Naveed, both key players for the Haya who shuffled players around to cover the gaps. An observer noted the atmosphere for Haya was great to have injured players continue to attend games in street clothes to coach/cheer their teammates on.
Here are your 2016 Spring Season Champions, Emaan:
- Emaan made a great comeback in this game but had some breaks go their way as Haya missed a chance from their third line to make it 3-1 late in the game as some great cycling of the ball resulted in a pair of open chances in front of the net that Khalid Mufti turned away. Then to open overtime, Azhar Kalair had his one-timer graze the outside of the post.
- Arif Bijabhai wins back to back Spring Season championships and both times with Emaan. A bit of a rocky start to his season after being the top pick in the draft and being dealt after his early season struggles but he bounced back as expected to contribute to Emaan's championship.
- An interesting season comes to a close, some unforgettable story lines over the season kept us entertained and Ihsan was the source of much of the material. With Ahmad "Batman" Hathout and Amir Multani working hard to get their names in the headlines week after week. The fall of the Dark Knight was noted last week as he took playoff elimination hard, this week it was discovered that Multani has taken refuge here to try and discover how to get his game back on track.
Award Winners for the season were announced after the Championship Game and here they are:
Islamic Relief Regular Season MVP: Yousuf Sowdagar
Best Defensive Forward: Farooq Sani
Best Defenseman: Luqman Arshad
Top Rookie: Idris Deen
Most Improved Player: Jaudat Wasty
Top Forward: Yousuf Sowdagar
Best Goaltender: Zaid Majoo
Naseem Buttar General Manager Award: Zuhair Fancy
Brotherhood Awards: Ahmad Ibrahim and Azhar Kalair
Playoff MVP: Khalid Mufti
Congratulations again to Emaan and thank you to everyone who participated this season and to players who were teased here and took it in stride. InshAllah we will see everyone back for the Fall Season so stay tuned for registration details later in the summer.
- Both teams had their full squads out for the championship game, for Haya this included injured players Rayhan Malik and Ozair Naveed, both key players for the Haya who shuffled players around to cover the gaps. An observer noted the atmosphere for Haya was great to have injured players continue to attend games in street clothes to coach/cheer their teammates on.
Here are your 2016 Spring Season Champions, Emaan:
- Emaan made a great comeback in this game but had some breaks go their way as Haya missed a chance from their third line to make it 3-1 late in the game as some great cycling of the ball resulted in a pair of open chances in front of the net that Khalid Mufti turned away. Then to open overtime, Azhar Kalair had his one-timer graze the outside of the post.
- Arif Bijabhai wins back to back Spring Season championships and both times with Emaan. A bit of a rocky start to his season after being the top pick in the draft and being dealt after his early season struggles but he bounced back as expected to contribute to Emaan's championship.
- An interesting season comes to a close, some unforgettable story lines over the season kept us entertained and Ihsan was the source of much of the material. With Ahmad "Batman" Hathout and Amir Multani working hard to get their names in the headlines week after week. The fall of the Dark Knight was noted last week as he took playoff elimination hard, this week it was discovered that Multani has taken refuge here to try and discover how to get his game back on track.
Award Winners for the season were announced after the Championship Game and here they are:
Islamic Relief Regular Season MVP: Yousuf Sowdagar
Best Defensive Forward: Farooq Sani
Best Defenseman: Luqman Arshad
Top Rookie: Idris Deen
Most Improved Player: Jaudat Wasty
Top Forward: Yousuf Sowdagar
Best Goaltender: Zaid Majoo
Naseem Buttar General Manager Award: Zuhair Fancy
Brotherhood Awards: Ahmad Ibrahim and Azhar Kalair
Playoff MVP: Khalid Mufti
Congratulations again to Emaan and thank you to everyone who participated this season and to players who were teased here and took it in stride. InshAllah we will see everyone back for the Fall Season so stay tuned for registration details later in the summer.
Friday, 3 June 2016
Week Fifteen - June 3
- Game One of the finals saw Emaan come in shorthanded but fend off Haya’s full squad to a end in a 1-1 draw. Emaan got off to a strong start scoring just 35 seconds into the game as Arif Bijabhai snapped in a shot from the slot set up by Ibrahim Hindy. Haya kept pressing and Waqar Khan tied the game in the second half after converting a pass from Farooq Sani. The goalies were the stars the rest of the way as Khalid Mufti and Kaunain Saiyed shut the door.
- Emaan were missing a few players and the result was longer shifts for their stars, Yousuf Sowdagar in particular seemed to play the entire game on defence and was understandably exhausted by the end.
- Haya was almost playing without captain Waqar Khan as he was being coerced to skip his game to play in another tournament by Ahmad Hathout, thankfully for his Haya teammates Khan turned down the request from the Dark Knight.
- Speaking of Ahmad Hathout, after the elimination of Ihsan stories are now flowing out about the team and the disappointment of not making it to the finals. Hathout in particular is said to be upset, he spent a significant amount of time practicing handshakes with teammates which is now wasted time. He is said to have modelled the sequence after this video.
- Sources indicate that Huzaifa Manjra of Emaan missed his game as it occurred on his birthday and he was out celebrating with friends. Manjra’s large red van was seem roaming various shisha establishments throughout the night.
- Back to Ahmad Hathout, it is established that he has taken his elimination hard, this picture was captured of him out running errands last week, a sad fall from the top for the Batman.
- Despite having ended in a 1-1 tie after game one, Emaan is said to be confident that the championship is still theirs with the expected return of key players for Game Two. Haya gave their best shot in Game One and it wasn’t enough to knock down their top seeded opponents.
- Award winners will be announced after the game so come out for the championship game and the announcement for the Regular Season Award Winners.
Player of the Game Video’s:
Emaan vs Haya - Khalid Mufti (not available)
- Emaan were missing a few players and the result was longer shifts for their stars, Yousuf Sowdagar in particular seemed to play the entire game on defence and was understandably exhausted by the end.
- Haya was almost playing without captain Waqar Khan as he was being coerced to skip his game to play in another tournament by Ahmad Hathout, thankfully for his Haya teammates Khan turned down the request from the Dark Knight.
- Speaking of Ahmad Hathout, after the elimination of Ihsan stories are now flowing out about the team and the disappointment of not making it to the finals. Hathout in particular is said to be upset, he spent a significant amount of time practicing handshakes with teammates which is now wasted time. He is said to have modelled the sequence after this video.
- Sources indicate that Huzaifa Manjra of Emaan missed his game as it occurred on his birthday and he was out celebrating with friends. Manjra’s large red van was seem roaming various shisha establishments throughout the night.
- Players on Haya commented that after facing Arif Bijabhai for the fifth time this season, he seemed to be much more comfortable around his opponents as he reportedly kept telling them that he was hungry for fish pakora during the game - although it was not clear if he was trying to get someone to accompany him to go eat some afterwards or just letting them know.
- Back to Ahmad Hathout, it is established that he has taken his elimination hard, this picture was captured of him out running errands last week, a sad fall from the top for the Batman.
- Despite having ended in a 1-1 tie after game one, Emaan is said to be confident that the championship is still theirs with the expected return of key players for Game Two. Haya gave their best shot in Game One and it wasn’t enough to knock down their top seeded opponents.
- Award winners will be announced after the game so come out for the championship game and the announcement for the Regular Season Award Winners.
Player of the Game Video’s:
Emaan vs Haya - Khalid Mufti (not available)
Friday, 27 May 2016
Week Fourteen - May 27th
- Wild finish for the Semi-Finals saw Emaan hang on to defeat Ihsan while Shukr gutted out a win over Haya only to lose in a shootout.
- Emaan and Ihsan opened the night with a wild one, Nadeem Faqiri scored just 11 seconds into the game only to have Emaan tie it up a couple of minutes later. Ihsan then scored a pair of quick goals to make it 3-1 only to have Emaan tie the game within two minutes. Ihsan again took a 4-3 lead as Faqiri completed his hat-trick but Emaan had their top line score a pair of goals to take a 5-4 lead. An Ihsan goal with a second left made it 5-5 but not enough as they needed a win to force overtime.
- Shukr worked for a 2-1 win to force overtime which solved nothing sending the series to a shootout. Waqar Khan scored the only goal in the shootout while Kaunain Saiyed stopped all three Shukr shooters to send his team to the finals.
- In the aftermath of Ihsan losing there were a number of questions about the status of their top player as Ahmad Hathout was reportedly very disappointed with an early exit. Having come off winning a Fall Championship, the Dark Knight was said to be eager to repeat the feat. Post-game a player from Emaan circulated this picture presumably to cap off their defeat of Batman:
- After losing Game One the pressure was on Shukr and to add to the challenge they were without defenseman Sadat Malik while Naiem Malik and Nadeem Qureshi played with injuries. Goalie Yasir Hussain was in danger of missing the game but changed his travel plans for a family wedding in order to play. A player from Shukr described the various acts made to make the game as a testament to the teams devotion to Coach K that they would go to such lengths to keep battling for him.
- Haya has received an inspired effort from goalie Kaunain Saiyed in the playoffs as he is said to be motivated by not being considered in the running for the Goalie of the Year Award. His play has certainly been noteworthy getting a shutout against Shukr in Game One and then shutting the door in Overtime and Shootout against Shukr again in Game Two to carry his team into the finals.
- After Shukr’s loss, there was some question as to whether Nadeem Qureshi would be calling it a career once again. After losing his “retirement match” against Coach K from the last Spring Season he was expected to hang it up but came back to ironically play for Coach K this season. Qureshi did a short lap around the arena after the handshake line with Ahmad Hathout and Shoaib Bhatti asking him if this was the end of the line. Qureshi didn’t have a final answer but reflected on the “I Quit” game he won against Bhatti who was forced into retirement before returning this season.
- Looking to the finals, Emaan comes in confident of an eventual championship and why not? They blew Haya out twice during both regular season meetings by a 5-1 and 7-4 scores. They have the top three scorers in the league with Yousuf Sowdagar (34 points), Gehad Alhundi (32 points) and Ibrahim Hindy (20 points). An unreal scoring pace that no team has been able to keep up with or contain. They have first overall pick Arif Bijabhai playing on the second line showing how gifted and deep they are offensively.
Player of the Game Video’s:
Emaan vs Ihsan - Gehad Alhundi (not available)
Haya vs Shukr - Kaunain Saiyed (not available)
Video Recaps:
Emaan vs Ihsan Game Two (pending)
Haya vs Shukr Game Two (pending)
- Emaan and Ihsan opened the night with a wild one, Nadeem Faqiri scored just 11 seconds into the game only to have Emaan tie it up a couple of minutes later. Ihsan then scored a pair of quick goals to make it 3-1 only to have Emaan tie the game within two minutes. Ihsan again took a 4-3 lead as Faqiri completed his hat-trick but Emaan had their top line score a pair of goals to take a 5-4 lead. An Ihsan goal with a second left made it 5-5 but not enough as they needed a win to force overtime.
- Shukr worked for a 2-1 win to force overtime which solved nothing sending the series to a shootout. Waqar Khan scored the only goal in the shootout while Kaunain Saiyed stopped all three Shukr shooters to send his team to the finals.
- In the aftermath of Ihsan losing there were a number of questions about the status of their top player as Ahmad Hathout was reportedly very disappointed with an early exit. Having come off winning a Fall Championship, the Dark Knight was said to be eager to repeat the feat. Post-game a player from Emaan circulated this picture presumably to cap off their defeat of Batman:
- After losing Game One the pressure was on Shukr and to add to the challenge they were without defenseman Sadat Malik while Naiem Malik and Nadeem Qureshi played with injuries. Goalie Yasir Hussain was in danger of missing the game but changed his travel plans for a family wedding in order to play. A player from Shukr described the various acts made to make the game as a testament to the teams devotion to Coach K that they would go to such lengths to keep battling for him.
- Haya has received an inspired effort from goalie Kaunain Saiyed in the playoffs as he is said to be motivated by not being considered in the running for the Goalie of the Year Award. His play has certainly been noteworthy getting a shutout against Shukr in Game One and then shutting the door in Overtime and Shootout against Shukr again in Game Two to carry his team into the finals.
- After Shukr’s loss, there was some question as to whether Nadeem Qureshi would be calling it a career once again. After losing his “retirement match” against Coach K from the last Spring Season he was expected to hang it up but came back to ironically play for Coach K this season. Qureshi did a short lap around the arena after the handshake line with Ahmad Hathout and Shoaib Bhatti asking him if this was the end of the line. Qureshi didn’t have a final answer but reflected on the “I Quit” game he won against Bhatti who was forced into retirement before returning this season.
- Looking to the finals, Emaan comes in confident of an eventual championship and why not? They blew Haya out twice during both regular season meetings by a 5-1 and 7-4 scores. They have the top three scorers in the league with Yousuf Sowdagar (34 points), Gehad Alhundi (32 points) and Ibrahim Hindy (20 points). An unreal scoring pace that no team has been able to keep up with or contain. They have first overall pick Arif Bijabhai playing on the second line showing how gifted and deep they are offensively.
Player of the Game Video’s:
Emaan vs Ihsan - Gehad Alhundi (not available)
Haya vs Shukr - Kaunain Saiyed (not available)
Video Recaps:
Emaan vs Ihsan Game Two (pending)
Haya vs Shukr Game Two (pending)
Friday, 20 May 2016
Week Thirteen - May 20th
- Week Twelve kicked off the playoffs, Ihsan defeated Ikhlas in the wildcard game that featured a close finish, the SemiFinals saw Haya squeak out a 1-0 win over Shukr while Emaan dominated Ihsan to win Game One of their series.
- The night opened with Ihsan winning the wildcard game, a win guaranteed by Ahmad Hathout. Ihsan held a 1-0 lead at the half and built a commanding 4-0 lead before Ikhlas suddenly found their groove scoring three goals in under six minutes to make it 4-3 with 1:59 left. Some careless penalties from Ihsan give Ikhlas a powerplay for the final minutes and but did enough to hold on for the win.
- Haya managed to grind out a 1-0 win over Shukr in a game where the goalies were both strong. Coach K came in with a plan to contain Waqar Khan and post game pointed to his success in that regard as Khan was held pointless. In the final minute, Shukr pulled their goalie and was buzzing around the net but some critical blocked shots by Farrukh Khan who sacrificed his body kept Shukr from converting a goalmouth opportunity.
- Emaan had their top line dominate Ihsan over the course of the game, Ihsan did hold 1-0 and 2-1 leads but were not able to shut down Emaan’s offence and were under siege in the second half. Ihsan attributed their struggles to tired legs having just come off their wildcard game but they will have to play a perfect game if they want to compete in Game Two against Emaan.
- Haya has been up and down offensively of late and with Shukr’s Coach K having success in containing the top line for Haya, it was Shoaib Bhatti who provided the games only goal. The veteran pulled a crafty move as he scooped a pass from Huzaifa Shahid from behind the net and quickly stepped out front and snapped it in before Shukr goalie Yasir Hussain could get across.
- Ihsan has a mountain to climb against Emaan, not helping the cause is the play of Amir Multani, the gifted forward seemed lost in both playoff games last week and if he cannot get in gear then Ihsan is not going to have any chance to win.
- Haya suffered another injury against Shukr last week, when they met in the last week of the regular season, Rayhan Malik’s season was ended with a slash from Aazar Zafar that broke his toe. Last week Ozair Naveed was cut down and is going to miss the rest of the playoffs with a fracture in his foot.
- Coach K reportedly took the video of his teams game against Haya to review it in detail, his defensive schemes were strong and they limited Haya to just 14 shots but he wanted to plan a strategy on breaking down Haya’s defence having been shutout.
- Emaan vs Ihsan also featured a battle between family as Akif Waheed faced off against Zain Khilji. While Khilji saw his team get the win, Waheed scored a personal victory as late in the game he caught Khilji with his head down in the middle and laid him out. Waheed seemed to soak it in with Humza Waheed and Asim Waheed cheering from the stands.
- Sadiq Rehman made an appearance last week as the goalie came down to watch some playoff action. He was expected to backstop Sabr to the post season but an ankle injury caused by a wrestling mishap with Wahhaj Salam ended his season prematurely and contributed to the struggles for Sabr as they missed the playoffs.
- Most players grow a beard during the playoff season - not really practical for this league where many players already sport facial hair. Waqar Khan went a different direction by shaving his head and prior to Haya’s win, Umair Ashraf was caught trying to rub Khan’s head for good luck.
- It is well known that Ahmad Hathout prefers to be referred to as his alter ego, Batman or the Dark Knight, but he has now started to give nicknames to teammates in an attempt to motivate them - or he doesn’t remember their names and he finds this easier. Ahmad Ibrahim is now Bane (presumably for his physical strength) while Mohammed Hamoud is Deadshot (his big slap-shot speaks for itself), Amir Multani has been monikered the Riddler.
- A Twitter Poll was created and those who voted were correct in two of the three results. Fans picked Ihsan to upset Ikhlas and Emaan to defeat the winner of Ikhlas/Ihsan which both were bang on. The third poll saw Shukr get picked to defeat Haya and were it not for the heroics of Kaunain Saiyed the polls could have been a clean sweep.
Player of the Game Video’s:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan - Mohammed Hamoud (not available)
Haya vs Shukr - Kaunain Saiyed with a shutout in Haya's win over Shukr
Emaan vs Ihsan - Yousuf Sowdagar (not available)
Video Recaps:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan (pending)
Haya vs Shukr (pending)
Emaan vs Ihsan (pending)
- The night opened with Ihsan winning the wildcard game, a win guaranteed by Ahmad Hathout. Ihsan held a 1-0 lead at the half and built a commanding 4-0 lead before Ikhlas suddenly found their groove scoring three goals in under six minutes to make it 4-3 with 1:59 left. Some careless penalties from Ihsan give Ikhlas a powerplay for the final minutes and but did enough to hold on for the win.
- Haya managed to grind out a 1-0 win over Shukr in a game where the goalies were both strong. Coach K came in with a plan to contain Waqar Khan and post game pointed to his success in that regard as Khan was held pointless. In the final minute, Shukr pulled their goalie and was buzzing around the net but some critical blocked shots by Farrukh Khan who sacrificed his body kept Shukr from converting a goalmouth opportunity.
- Emaan had their top line dominate Ihsan over the course of the game, Ihsan did hold 1-0 and 2-1 leads but were not able to shut down Emaan’s offence and were under siege in the second half. Ihsan attributed their struggles to tired legs having just come off their wildcard game but they will have to play a perfect game if they want to compete in Game Two against Emaan.
- Haya has been up and down offensively of late and with Shukr’s Coach K having success in containing the top line for Haya, it was Shoaib Bhatti who provided the games only goal. The veteran pulled a crafty move as he scooped a pass from Huzaifa Shahid from behind the net and quickly stepped out front and snapped it in before Shukr goalie Yasir Hussain could get across.
- Ihsan has a mountain to climb against Emaan, not helping the cause is the play of Amir Multani, the gifted forward seemed lost in both playoff games last week and if he cannot get in gear then Ihsan is not going to have any chance to win.
- Haya suffered another injury against Shukr last week, when they met in the last week of the regular season, Rayhan Malik’s season was ended with a slash from Aazar Zafar that broke his toe. Last week Ozair Naveed was cut down and is going to miss the rest of the playoffs with a fracture in his foot.
- Coach K reportedly took the video of his teams game against Haya to review it in detail, his defensive schemes were strong and they limited Haya to just 14 shots but he wanted to plan a strategy on breaking down Haya’s defence having been shutout.
- Emaan vs Ihsan also featured a battle between family as Akif Waheed faced off against Zain Khilji. While Khilji saw his team get the win, Waheed scored a personal victory as late in the game he caught Khilji with his head down in the middle and laid him out. Waheed seemed to soak it in with Humza Waheed and Asim Waheed cheering from the stands.
- Sadiq Rehman made an appearance last week as the goalie came down to watch some playoff action. He was expected to backstop Sabr to the post season but an ankle injury caused by a wrestling mishap with Wahhaj Salam ended his season prematurely and contributed to the struggles for Sabr as they missed the playoffs.
- Most players grow a beard during the playoff season - not really practical for this league where many players already sport facial hair. Waqar Khan went a different direction by shaving his head and prior to Haya’s win, Umair Ashraf was caught trying to rub Khan’s head for good luck.
- It is well known that Ahmad Hathout prefers to be referred to as his alter ego, Batman or the Dark Knight, but he has now started to give nicknames to teammates in an attempt to motivate them - or he doesn’t remember their names and he finds this easier. Ahmad Ibrahim is now Bane (presumably for his physical strength) while Mohammed Hamoud is Deadshot (his big slap-shot speaks for itself), Amir Multani has been monikered the Riddler.
- A Twitter Poll was created and those who voted were correct in two of the three results. Fans picked Ihsan to upset Ikhlas and Emaan to defeat the winner of Ikhlas/Ihsan which both were bang on. The third poll saw Shukr get picked to defeat Haya and were it not for the heroics of Kaunain Saiyed the polls could have been a clean sweep.
Player of the Game Video’s:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan - Mohammed Hamoud (not available)
Haya vs Shukr - Kaunain Saiyed with a shutout in Haya's win over Shukr
Emaan vs Ihsan - Yousuf Sowdagar (not available)
Video Recaps:
Ikhlas vs Ihsan (pending)
Haya vs Shukr (pending)
Emaan vs Ihsan (pending)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)