JERUSALEM: The West Bank Premier League will return to action (Tuesday), in what can be a decisive week in the title race.
Week 17 will kick-off Tuesday, with Markez Balata will host Jabel Mukaber in Nablus for a mega match between the second and the third, and the two teams who led the table throughout the whole of the first round. One of the teams must win to keep the championship battle alive, as both are trailing behind Shabab Al-Khaleel. A draw will serve the latter imminently. In another match, Al-Am’ari will play Shabab Al-Samu.
*Balata won 3-2 in a thrilling match when they led 2-0 via Atef Abu Belal and Mahmoud Abu Warda, Taer Qarain (64) and Shehab Qunbar (88) equalised for Jabel Mukaber, but Yahia Sbakhi nailed the winner for Balata on the 92nd minute!
Wednesday will host two games: Tubas will host the ‘almost surely’ relegated Taraji Wad Al-Nes, while Hilal Al-Quds will travel to Tulkarem and play Thagafi.
Finally, the matchday will be finalised on Thursday, with the matches involving Dhahariah and Al-Bireh and the Hebron Derby, between Shabab Al-Khaleel and Ahli Al-Khaleel. Ahli is in danger of relegation, while Shabab is five-points clear on top of the table. A victory for Shabab will be a definitive step towards the title, six games before the season ends.
Abu Ayoub. A first Hebron derby without him. (Photo: Shabab Al-Khaleel official facebook)
One important player who will miss the derby is Khaldoun Halman, a long time hero for Al-Ahli, who crossed the road to Shabab and turned a star. In 2015 Halman guided Al-Ahli to a memorable 4-0 victory with a tremendous goal, but a severe ACL injury on Sunday’s training session will keep him away from this week’s derby.
Halman is not the only important Shababi to be absent from the derby. Earlier this week, Shabab’s greatest fan, Abu Ayoub Abu Najm, died from Coronavirus. He never missed a match of the club and was a well-known character among the Palestinian football community. Rest in peace.
Balata’s AFC Cup venue decided
Makrez Balata, the Palestinian champions for 2019/20 will play the AFC Cup 2021, in the centralised venue in Amman, Jordan, as part of the competition’s Group B. The AFC has released the resolutions for all the groups, in what is likely to be a fascinating campaign.
Photo by Qusay Abu Snena / Shabab Al-Khaleel official Facebook page.
OFFICIAL: Hosts for the #AFCCup2021 centralized group stage announced!
— Uri Levy (@Levyninho) March 1, 2021
Group A: Manama 🇧🇭
Group B+C: Amman 🇯🇴
Group D: Malé 🇲🇻
Group E: Bishkek 🇰🇬
Group F: Dushanbe 🇹🇯
Group H+I: Singapore 🇸🇬
Group G: To be decided
Gonna be fun & complicated.
This. Is. The. AFC. Cup! pic.twitter.com/HUjKTiT4MR
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