DUBAI // With arguably their most daunting assignment successfully completed, Al Ahli maintain they have little time to rest on their laurels as they go in search of the Arabian Gulf League title.
The 2013/14 campaign’s greatest accumulator of victories moved four points clear at the top of the standings last week, following win No 8 in the 2-0 triumph against the runner-up Al Shabab.
Ahli will have taken particular pleasure from the result; their early dominance had begun to waver as they failed to register victory in three previous rounds. In fact, days before the Shabab match, Cosmin Olaroiu’s side had relinquished their unbeaten league record, defeated 2-1 by Al Wasl.
They loom as strong favourites to continue their winning ways on Thursday when they travel north to face Ajman, who are languishing at the bottom of the table.
“We respect Ajman. They don’t deserve to be in this position, but higher,” said Catalin Raducan, the Ahli assistant, who is fulfilling Olaroiu’s media commitments as the Romanian contests a six-month touchline ban. (Olaroiu was in court in Abu Dhabi yesterday to answer charges of defaming Al Ain, his former employers.)
Raducan added: “We hope our team will forget the game against Shabab because now they must be very focused on Ajman. Our players must go onto the pitch extremely motivated, to realise the importance of this game.”
Ahli should fully comprehend what is at stake: they play one day before their title rivals, meaning a defeat of Ajman will extend their lead to a rousing seven points.
The 2012/13 season offers a reminder that they must not underestimate their opponents. Ahli, who eventually finished runner-up by 11 points to Al Ain, were unexpectedly conquered in matches against the division’s “small” teams, suffering shock reverses to the likes of Dibba Al Fujairah and Al Dhafra.
Raducan is wary of a repeat.
“When you want to lift the title it’s very important to win these games, to take the three points, so this season it’s our main target to keep players focused to understand how important these games are for us,” he said.
“We must treat each game like a final, know that easy games don’t exist; it’s not three points only for wins against Al Shabab or Al Ain, it’s the same against Ajman or Al Dhafra. Our players need to understand this.”
Raducan said Ahli have learnt from past mistakes. The Wasl loss now seems almost a necessary setback, and the players responded with a spirited return to form against Shabab.
With an Asian Champions League drive to commence in February, Ahli’s immediate future appears bright. Yet again, Raducan tempers expectation.
“Until now four points [in the league] is nothing: we can win an advantage, or we lose it,” he said. “Before we start in Asia we have four very important games. If we win then we can talk about the difference between us and second place, and think about Asia, but only after this month when we are focused on league matches and the President’s Cup.
“The first game, against Ajman, is the most important. In this moment we do not lose concentration.”
Al Wahda hope to start win streak after ‘unlucky’ stretch
Al Wahda will be hoping to build on their 1-0 win over Al Dhafra when they travel to struggling Dubai on Thursday night.
The Abu Dhabi club, right, had gone without a win for seven rounds, splitting points in five of those games, before Hussain Fadel’s 81st-minute goal against Dhafra ended their win drought.
“It is not easy when you have not won a match in seven rounds,” said Jose Peseiro, the Wahda coach. “I thought we were unlucky in many of those matches.”
Dubai, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back following their 2-1 defeat at Al Shaab last week, when they conceded twice in the final eight minutes.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Company%20Profile
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Super%20Mario%20Bros%20Wonder
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The specs
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Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
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The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
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The Outsider
Stephen King, Penguin
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20Profile
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Ukraine%20exports
%3Cp%3EPresident%20Volodymyr%20Zelenskyy%20has%20overseen%20grain%20being%20loaded%20for%20export%20onto%20a%20Turkish%20ship%20following%20a%20deal%20with%20Russia%20brokered%20by%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey.%3Cbr%3E%22The%20first%20vessel%2C%20the%20first%20ship%20is%20being%20loaded%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20war.%20This%20is%20a%20Turkish%20vessel%2C%22%20Zelensky%20said%2C%20adding%20exports%20could%20start%20in%20%22the%20coming%20days%22%20under%20the%20plan%20aimed%20at%20getting%20millions%20of%20tonnes%20of%20Ukrainian%20grain%20stranded%20by%20Russia's%20naval%20blockade%20to%20world%20markets.%3Cbr%3E%22Our%20side%20is%20fully%20prepared%2C%22%20he%20said.%20%22We%20sent%20all%20the%20signals%20to%20our%20partners%20--%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey%2C%20and%20our%20military%20guarantees%20the%20security%20situation.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Japan 30-10 Russia
Tries: Matsushima (3), Labuschange | Golosnitsky
Conversions: Tamura, Matsuda | Kushnarev
Penalties: Tamura (2) | Kushnarev
LIST OF INVITEES
Shergo Kurdi (am)
Rayhan Thomas
Saud Al Sharee (am)
Min Woo Lee
Todd Clements
Matthew Jordan
AbdulRahman Al Mansour (am)
Matteo Manassero
Alfie Plant
Othman Al Mulla
Shaun Norris
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
SUNDAY'S ABU DHABI T10 MATCHES
Northern Warriors v Team Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangla Tigers v Karnataka Tuskers, 5.45pm
Qalandars v Maratha Arabians, 8pm
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20profile
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
