West Bank Premier League
A quick look at the standings shows some surprises. Although it should not surprise anyone that Hilal Al-Quds are top of the table on 28 points from 11 games trailed by Al-Am’ary on 25 points. The surprise so far has been the form of Balata who find themselves tied for third place on 20 points. The newly promoted Nablus club has leaned on the performances of its young starlets- Abu Habeeb and Mohammed Nael.
Let’s not forget the other competitions going on in the West Bank. Wadi Al-Nes looked unstoppable in August romping to a cup double winning the Palestinian Supercup on penalties over defending WBPL champions Jabal Al-Mokaber and beating Al-Am’ary in the inaugural Yasser Arafat Cup 1-0. Their league campaign, however, has been mired by an inability to score goals. Wadi Al-Nes lost two out of its first three games, and despite having the second best defence in the league (8 goals allowed) they have scored a paltry 11 goals. The team is currently midtable on 17 points.
The revelation so far this season has been Murad Alyan, the 35 year old veteran has experience playing in the lower levels of the Israeli league. He has been so deadly in front of goal, he leads the league with 12 goals, that he forced Mousa Bezaz to go back on his promise not to call him up due to his age.
A poll of the 13 WBPL managers has revealed the best eleven players of the season thus far:
GK: Abdullah Saidawi (Hilal Al-Quds) 7 votes
CB: Mohammed Al-Masri (Al-Dhahrieh) 7 votes
CB: Ra’fit Eyad (Jabal Al-Mokaber) 6 votes.
RB: Raed Fares (Shabab Al-Khaleel) 12 votes
LB: Ahmed Harbi (Al-Am’ary) 10 votes
CM: Murad Ismail (Hilal Al-Quds) 11 votes
CM: Ma’ly Kaware (Al-Am’ary) 5 votes
LM: Shadi Ferhan (Shabab Al-Khaleel) 5 votes
RM: Suleiman Obied (Al-Am’ary) 7 votes
FW: Murad Alyan (Hilal Al-Quds) 13 votes
FW: Eyad Abugharqud (Al-Am’ary) 9 votes
Also receiving votes: Mohammed Shbair (GK/Al-Khaleel) 6 votes, Mohammed Abdel-Jawad (CB/Hilal Al-Quds) 5 votes, Ismail Al-Amour (RM/Jabal Al-Mokaber) 5 votes, Ali Al-Khatib (LM/Jabal Al-Mokaber) 4 votes.
