Mohammed Syed Ahmed (Abu Dhabi)
Al-Wahda’s loss to the Kalba Union last Sunday, in the 11th round of the ADNOC Professional League, was a painful blow and a severe shock to the “Al Annabi” fans and the club’s employees in general, especially as it came after 4 consecutive victories in which the team jumped to the rank of standings, which the team did not retreat from after the loss. However, the difference of 4 points with the leaders Al Ain widened to 7 points, after Al Wahda’s balance stopped at 20 points.
And the irony in this match, which witnessed the absence of influential players such as Ismail Matar, captain of the team, and Abdullah Hamad, whose absence will continue until the end of the season after joining the national service, and Alaa Zuhair, who was suspended with the third warning before meeting Kalba, in addition to his injury that will be absent in front of Al-Jazira also in the 12th round, the irony is that Al-Wahda had control of the game and advanced with a goal before wasting the penalty kick, which was a turning point in the match. After that, Al-Annabi received two goals and lost the first loss in the tournament this season.
The loss left a state of anxiety among the fans of the club, who are preoccupied with the question of whether it will be a mere setback, after which the team will return to practice its habits in the past seasons by retreating and losing fortunes in the competition.
French Gregory coach of Al-Wahda, who was among the saddest after the loss, especially as it is the first with the team, said after the match that the league is on the field, and that it is normal for any competing team to lose some points, considering that more than one team is in the race for the shield, and that Al-Ain is true that it has moved away in the lead, but to decide the championship, it must win the next 15 rounds.
It seems from Gregory’s words that he clings to hope, and his speech is not devoid of logic in particular that the league’s journey is still long and all accounts are contained in it, but the real test for the young French coach and his team will be in winning the full mark in the last two rounds of the first round, in front of Al-Jazira next Friday , then victory on January 9, 2022, to confirm that he has the strong desire and tools to race the competition.
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