John McAuley
Wahda need Diaz back
On the face of it, there does not seem too much wrong at Al Wahda. The capital club sit top, undefeated, with 13 points from a possible 15.
Sunday's 2-1 victory at Al Shabab was another come-from-behind triumph, their third of the season, and another display of their never-say-die attitude.
There is room for improvement, though. The Arabian Gulf League leaders rightfully champion their early season success, but they have not truly sparkled since the opening-day evisceration of Kalba.
There, Damian Diaz was the standout. Yet the Argentine playmaker picked up an injury after Round 2 and has not been seen since.
Wahda need him. It appears a moot point, given their start, but Jose Peseiro’s men cannot rely solely on their fighting spirit to challenge for the title.
The fixture list has been kind, although, from late November, Wahda face Al Jazira, Al Ain, Al Ahli and Al Nasr in a five-week spell.
Diaz, their creative fulcrum, must be available for selection by then; he is that important.
Vucinic Golden Boot shoo-in?
It was a tad unfair, given Asamoah Gyan was not there to offer a response.
The Ghanaian, hoarder of the past three seasonal awards given to the league's top goalscorer, was suspended from Sunday's pulsating clash between Al Ain and Al Jazira.
The Garden City club’s defeat – they lost 4-3 in Abu Dhabi – would have particularly rankled, since Mirko Vucinic bagged all of his side’s goals.
Four to add to the six already notched in the opening few weeks of the campaign, taking his tally into double figures. It leaves the league’s other strikers in his wake.
These are early days, but the summer signing from Juventus looks likely to pick up at least one trophy come May.
Gyan’s grip on the Golden Boot is slipping, through no fault of his own.
Granted, Gyan has played in only two league matches this term and scored in both, but he trails Vucinic by eight goals.
The Montenegrin is almost out of sight.
Ahli must find answers, fast
After last week’s uninspiring 0-0 draw with Ajman, Cosmin Olaroiu urged caution.
The league was long, the Al Ahli coach said, and fraught with difficulties. The champions had dropped more points, collecting only seven from a possible 12, but Olaroiu refused to panic.
Others would suffer the same fate, he declared. Ahli, though, would rebound; their title defence soon back on track.
One week on, the spotlight has intensified. Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Fujairah leaves Ahli in fifth, five points off the top.
As the Dubai club proved last season, substantial gaps at the division’s head do not narrow easily.
Ciel’s injury has not helped, because Ahli are struggling up front. The rout of Al Wasl aside, they have averaged one goal per game in their other four fixtures.
Carlos Munoz was signed to boost their attack, yet questions remain if he can fill the void.
Ahli must kick on quick, before the leading pack pulls too far into the distance.
Toure’s perfect retort
Following an uncertain last few days of the summer transfer window, Ibrahima Toure was back doing what he does best. The Al Nasr forward, banned for four matches and heavily fined for violent conduct in the opener against Baniyas, had by all means been deemed surplus to requirements at Al Maktoum Stadium.
The club publicly sought a replacement. Yet no one signed and Toure stayed.
Then, on Sunday, he returned to the starting line-up at Ajman and promptly netted twice in his side’s 3-0 victory.
What a difference a week makes.
The fact remains, despite his obvious deficiencies, the Senegalese striker is a reliable goalscorer, who last season scored more times than anyone else at the club.
If Nasr have designs on improving on last year’s top-five finish, then they need Toure onside.
Temperamental but talented, he could be the difference between a decent campaign and a remarkable one.
New coach, same result
It had been surprisingly long, by Arabian Gulf League standards at least.
Four weeks into the campaign, and all 14 managers remained in position.
Remember, this was a division that last year witnessed its reigning champion discard their coach on the eve of the campaign. So the opening month of 2014/15 was pleasantly uneventful, delightfully sanguine.
Then Al Dhafra rocked us from our reverie by announcing Anel Karabeg, their Bosnian manager, was out and Marion Ion, the Romanian, was in.
Four straight draws were deemed inadequate for a club with modest resources.
So Ion took to the Dhafra dugout for the first time on Sunday for the visit of Emirates.
The result was a fifth consecutive draw at 1-1.
In football, the theory goes that a change in coach brings a turnaround in form, but Dhafra have stayed dutifully stuck to sharing the spoils.
A clean slate does not always mean a clean break.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
