After Week Two here is the Divisional Standings:
| MECCA | |||||||||
| RANK | TEAM | GP | WINS | LOSSES | TIES | POINTS | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Haya | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Ikhlas | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Emaan | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | -4 |
| 4 | Taqwa | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -6 |
| MEDINA | |||||||||
| RANK | TEAM | GP | WINS | LOSSES | TIES | POINTS | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Sabr | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 2 | Ihsan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 3 | Yaqeen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Ridha | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
- Check out the Media Teams review of Week Two and preview of Week Three here.
- It's been an interesting start to the season in terms of scoring leaders with seven players tied with four points each over the first two games.
- Haya is leading the league in offence but is reportedly looking to tinker with their lineup a bit
is looking for someone to fill a second line fwd position on their roster, rumour has is Omar Essawi has been approached to consider it as he seems to have regained his hands and speed he was once known for
- Sabr is hoping for good news on the injury front soon as Ali Murtaza is reportedly still out with a lower body injury. The team is still sitting pretty in first place thanks to their depth but would not want to be without the veteran for too long as the season progresses.
- After Week Two we have Haya, Ikhlas, Sabr and Yaqeen as the remaining undefeated team
- A familiar face in an unfamiliar place as Saqib Khokhar leads league in penalties, no word if this is because he is trying to re-establish himself as a power forward or not.
- Mohammed Khandwala is set to make his Sabr debut tonight in a key divisional game against Ridha, he had been travelling up to now and will be eager to help keep his team at the top of the Medina division.
- The Mecca Division see a battle of the bottom dwellers tonight as Emaan and Taqwa face up with each team looking for their first win. The teams already made the unusual move to make a trade with each other, it will be interesting to see what other moves may be made when the dust settles after this one as the last place team cannot afford to wait too long and risk falling further behind in the standings.
- Sabr is at the top of the table and incredibly this has happened with Mohammed Hamoud and Zubair Wahid yet to register a point.
- Many eyes will be on Yaqeen and their loaded offence tonight which pundits expect to break out against Ihsan after showing positive signs last week against Sabr.
- Emaan leadership feels that with the acquisition of Arif Khan that they have a deep set of forwards and with reports that Kadir Motiwala being dressed for tonight they should have more punch in their line-up than they did in their first two games. One wonders if a trade will be forced after their game against Taqwa to shake things up.
- Ihsan was at the receiving end of a lot of physical play from Ridha last week, they are hoping that the return of Umer "The Bonecrusher" Buksh that they will not have opponents take as many liberties going forward.
- Observers wonder if the Emaan-Taqwa trade this week will work out for Taqwa as they expect it to. In the transaction they gave up centre Arif Khan and winger Aliuddin Mohammad and obtained Dawud Habib in return. Habib is the youngest of all the players involved and is reasonable to assume has the greatest potential going into the future but Taqwa needs to worry about the now. They gave up a wily veteran in Khan who was playing on their top line for Habib who is fast but raw. Time will tell if this works in their favour but trading skill for youth is a high risk move considering Taqwa has yet to score a goal this season. If anything this move puts more pressure on Taqwa veterans like Ihtisham Qureshi and Imran Lakhanpal to find their younger glory years and start to light up the scoreboard.
- Ihsan has shown that their top line is as lethal as the pundits predicted, the combination of Ajmal Esmatyar, Dawood Ciombor and Ammal Esmatyar has been great over the first two weeks. Adding to the fact the second line has also created a lot of chances this team looks to be solid offensively.
- Sabr looks like the real deal thus far this season, with a backline where all of them are considered shutdown defensemen and smart forwards who know how to disrupt opposing offences. There was a concern coming into the season that building from the blue line out during the first few rounds of the draft meant the forwards would not have enough depth but Emad Hussain has been critical for the team as he is tied for the league lead in points and has carried the second line with his great play.
- Is there anybody better than Aadil Chohan? There were questions when he dropped to 6th overall in the draft and Mazhar Hussain commented in the GM Interviews that he was shocked to get him and now everyone knows why. Chohan has simply been dominating games with his slick hands and high hockey IQ. The ball keeps coming back to him. Without Chohan and the strong play from Yasir Hussain, this team would be 0-2. Mazhar Hussain and the old Malton Slappers need to start hitting the gym, and work on their cardio in order to keep up with the speed in the league. So far they’ve been ok as Chohan has been the driving force behind every single play but what if their star has an off night or is away? This team needs Chohan to be on his A-Game every single shift in order for this team to stay competitive.
- Farooq Sani has crafted a squad filled with veterans and old friends. His draft saviour Fahad Mohammed has been looking like a steal with the way he’s been playing. The crafty drafting, especially in the later rounds has worked in their favours as another Montreal defect, Mesbeh Siddiqui has been an integral part of the defensive core and has been relied upon heavily by Sani. But as we all know, this team will only be taken far if Ahmad Mobin plays well. Yes it’s the month of the scares, ghosts and vampires and Mr Mobin needs to keep these holiday distractions out of his mind when playing.
- Some observers are predicting doom for Taqwa after only two weeks saying that while their team has a great group of veterans, they lack the natural scorers to open a game up. With the best goalie in the league and a solid system it looks like many of their games will be tight low scoring affairs - not the most attractive game to watch as long as you win it but they have zero goals this season so someone needs to step up.
- Haya was rolling in their 5-0 win last week and were missing Abdul Nafea Zuberi due to a midterm exam and he will be a game time decision tonight due to another mid term
- Reminder that while Eye Protection is not mandatory this season it is strongly urged that all players ensure to protect themselves. There were some injuries last season where deflected balls hit players in the face and could have resulted in a serious injury to the eye. Please take the time to consider your own personal safety and wear the appropriate eye protection.
Follow us on Social Media!
Youtube
