Al Shabab:

1-Hassan al Sharif, 3-Abdulla Darwish, 5-Walid Abbas, 7-Ali Mohammed, 19-Mohammed Ahmed,29-Esam Dhahi, 21-Adel Abdulla, 26-Abdulaziz Husain, 27-Julio Cesar, 10-Carlos Villanueva, 9-Lamine Diarra.

Substitutes: 31-salem Abdulla, 2-Essa Mohammed, 6-Hassan Ibrahim, 11-Suroor Salem, 14-Mohammed Naser, 15-dawood Ali, 20-Nasser Masood.

Al Wasl:

55-Majed Naser, 6-Waleed Ismail, 8-Ali Mahmoud, 13-Darwish Ahmed, 23-Mohammed Jamal, 25-Mohammed Abdullah, 29-Yaser Salem, 33-Saoud Saeed, 70-Maher Jassim, 17-Alexandre Oliveira, 11-Francisco Yeste.

Substitutes: 1-Rashid Ali, 3-Omran Abdulrahman, 10-Khaled Darwish, 14-Khalaf Ismail, 21-Saeed al Kas, 24-Rashed Essa, 77-Essa Ali.

Ibrahim Diaky admitted to a TV interviewer after the match that fans who had criticized his play in the early part of this season ... had a point.

The Al Jazira captain and playmaker, the pivot of their attack during their three consecutive runners-up finishes in the Pro League, had seemed strangely passive and at times almost invisible during the side's first four matches this season, scoring only one goal.

That all changed tonight as he scored two goals and assisted on a third as Jazira broke open what was a tight and evenly contested match with three goals in the final 17 minutes.

Diaky scored in the 37th minute to give Jazira an edge that never really felt comfortable until the second goal.

He said he entered the match determined to again be the player Jazira supporters expect him to be. "I know my capacity," he said. "I know I can play very well."

He said Jazira's goal this season is its first Pro League title. "Our goal is to win the league," he said.

When asked what he thought the odds of a Jazira championship were, 80 per cent, 90 per cent, 100 per cent, he said: "We think it's 100 per cent."

Jazira are the last unbeaten team in the league. The club have lost only once in 27 matches, going back to the start of the 2009/10 season.

Another Jazira player who had a strong match tonight was Ali Kasheif, the goalkeeper who was back after a week off following the death of his father.

Kasheif held the opposition scoreless for the third time in four matches, He has been beaten only once in 360 minutes.

Jazira's place atop the table may be short-lived, this weekend. Wasl is on nine points and is away to Shabab on Saturday night. A Wasl victory vaults the seven-times champions into the top spot. 

Al Jazira:

55-Ali Kasheif, 4-Yasser Matar, 12-Sami Rabea, 15-Saleh Basheer, 18-Abdulla Mousa, 23-Khalid Sabeel, 10-Ibrahim Diaky, 22-Matias Delgado, 24-Subait Khater, 14-Tony, 9-Bare.

Substitutes: 36-Khalid Saif al Sinani, 7-Ahmed Jumaa, 11-Ahmed Mohammed, 17-Saleh Obaid, 26-Salem Masoud, 27-Ali Salem Ahmed, 77-Sultan Bargash al Minhali.

Baniyas:

30-Ayoub al Marzouqi, 20-Eder, 26-Yousef Jaber, 8-Mohammed Fawzi, 15-Saqr al Hammadi, 5-Amer Abdulrahman, 7-Haboush Saleh, 24-Thamer Mohammed, 22-Theyab Awana, 10-Fawzi Basheer, 9-Andre Senghor.

Substitutes: 1-Mohammed Khalef, 4-Ahmed Ali al Alberi, 6-Ali Massari, 11-Sultan al Ghaferi, 14-Fareed Ismail, 28-Fahad Feraish, 88-Hassan Zahran.

Our colleague Amith Passela reports on the rumours at Al Jazira ...

Abel Braga, the Al Jazira coach, has rubbished reports from the Brazilian media of a move to Santos, the Brazilian club, who is under caretaker coach after firing Dorival Junior following their 3-1 defeat to Vasco Da Gama in the Serie A on Wednesday.

"They are fabricated stories," Braga said. "I have a contract with Jazira until June 2011 and I want to respect that. My relationship with Jazira is built on respect and trust, so I don't intend of any moves, unless the club want me to go."

According to Braga, 17 coaches have been fired from the Brazilian league. "The speculations are rife and they drag every name as replacements. But there has been no offer for me from Santos, and even if there was one, my answer would be a clear no.

"I am not looking at the money anymore. I want to be with a club where I can contribute in their development and progress. I find that at Jazira. I am willing to even work free for them. That's the kind of respect I have built with Jazira."

Dorival was fired after he refused to recall the suspended 18-year-old star striker Neymar.

The club, often remembered as the home of Pele, have appointed Marcelo Martelote as caretaker coach and Braga's name was linked as one of the candidates by the Brazilian media.

"Of course there are no guarantees to a football manager's job," Braga said. "Laszlo Boloni (the Al Wahda coach) was terminated after two league matches. For the time being, my future of staying at Jazira is in their hands. But I have no intentions to leave unless they want me to."

Braga has an exemplary record with the Abu Dhabi club, having seen them finish second in his two years in charge, and rounding off the last season winning the Etisalat Cup.
They have lost just once in 26 league games from last season and meet Baniyas at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium tonight at 8.

"Baniyas is one of the most dangerous teams and they play attacking game," said Braga. "Jazira also play the same offensive style and I expect it to be a very open and entertaining game."

Sami Rabea, the Al Wasl defender and captain, who crossed over to Jazira on the last day of the transfer window 11 days ago, is set to get his first start for his new club. His place in the lineup is not one of choice but out of necessity, as replacement for Jumaa Abdullah, who is serving a one-match ban for three bookings.

Braga admitted his defense will be tested by Andre Senghor, the leading scorer with six goals after four rounds, and the youthful Baniyas midfielders  -- Mohammed Fawzi, Theyab Awana, Amer Abdulrahman, and Habboush Saleh, all from the UAE Olympic team.

"They work well from the middle and feed Senghor with good balls," said Braga. "We are also strong in the middle with Ibrahim Diaky, Matias (Delgado) and Subait (Khater), so I would expect the attack to come from the two flanks.

"I have a lot of respect for Baniyas but I am not afraid of them. We want to win this game after the two draws against Al Wahda and Al Ahli. Jazira is at a very good level and I am very hopeful of keeping that intact."

Al Ain:

30-Abdulla Sultan, 44-Fares Juma, 4-Musallem Fayez, 21-Fawzi Fayez, 26-Hamad al Marri, 20-Mohammed Abdulrahman, 23-Shehab Ahmed, 11-Saif Mohammed, 10-Omar Abdulrahman, 77-Hazza Salem, 13-Rami Yaslam.

Substitutes: 36-Dawoud Sulaiman, 5-Ismail Ahmed, 8-Ahmed al Shamsi, 2-Abdulaziz Fayez, 19-Mohanad Salem al Enazi, 32-Hamad Raqea, 70-Bandar Mohammed.

Al Ahli:

90-Obaid al Taweela, 23-Fabio Cannavaro, 5-Mohammed Qassim, 7-Obaid Khalifa, 44-Bader Abdulrahman, 29-Ali Hussain, 4-Ahmed Ali, 22-Pinga, 18-ahmed Khamis, 11-Faisal Khalil, 10-Ahmed Khalil.

Substitues: 33-Saif Yousif, 3-Saad Surour, 12-Abdulla Malallah, 14-Adil Saqr Abdulla, 21-Adil Salem, 32-Abdulla Ali, 35-Abdulla Abdulrahman. 

6 goals
Andre Senghor, Baniyas        

5 goals
Jose Sand, Al Ain; Marcelinho Oliveira, Sharjah.

3 goals
Ismael Bangoura, Al Nasr; Lamine Diarra, Al Shabab; Ahmed Khamis, Al Ahli; Pinga Luciano, Al Ahli; Michael N'dri, Dubai; Francisco Yeste, Al Wasl.

2 goals
Julio Cesar, Al Shabab; Gregory Dufrennes, Kalba; Abdulaziz Fayez, Al Ain; Jumaa Abdullah, Al Jazira; Abdullah Mousa, Al Jazira; Carlos Tenorio, Al Nasr; Carlos Villanueva, Al Shabab.

1 goal
Humaid Abdullah, Sharjah; Omar Abdulrahman, Al Ain; Dawood Ali, Al Shabab; Mohammed Alsaedi, Al Dhafra; Fernando Baiano, Al Wahda; Aristide Bance, Al Ahli; Fawzi Basheer, Baniyas; Khaled Darwish, Al Wasl; Ibrahim Diaky, Al Jazira; Modibo Diarra, Al Wahda; Ahmed Eissa, Kalba; Simon Feindouno, Kalba; Saleh Habboush, Baniyas; Hamad al Hosani, Al Dhafra; Maher Jassim, Al Wasl; Boris Kabi, Al Dhafra; Saeed al Kas, Al Wasl; Hamdan al Kamali, Al Wahda; Ahmed Khalil, Al Ahli; Subait Khater, Al Jazira; Abbas Lawal, Al Dhafra; Leonardo Lima, Al Nasr; Alexandre Oliveira, Al Wasl; Khalid Sabeel, Al Jazira; Rachid Tiberkanin, Dubai.

Own goals: Dhafra (Khairi al Hammadi)

Leading goalkeepers
Ali Kasheif, Al Jazira    0.33
Abdullah Sultan, Al Ain     0.33
Adel al Hosani, Al Wahda    0.75
Ayoub al Marzouqi, Baniyas    1.00
Majed Nasser, Al Wasl    1.75
Obaid al Taweela, Al Ahli    1.75
Salem Abdullah, Al Shabab    2.00
Jamal al Hammadi, Dubai     2.00
Ismael Rabea, Al Nasr     2.00
Mohammed al Tamimi, Dhafra     2.33
Mohammed Abdullah, Kalba    3.33

Note: goals allowed per game; minimum three games played


Goals scored per week
Week 1 -- 18
Week 2 -- 19
Week 3 -- 17
Week 4 -- 21

Average goals per match: 3.1

The defender Mohammed Fayez of Al Ain will be sidelined indefinitely after undergoing what the club today described as "two successful surgeries" on his knee at a site in Germany.

The club, which despite a rash of injuries is only one point behind Pro League leaders Baniyas and Wasl, said Fayez was injured during the draw with Sharjah on September 19. He is expected to return to the UAE next week to start his rehabilitation at the club clinic.

Also, the goalkeeper Yousuf Abdulrahman will soon be sent to  Germany to continue his treatment in the wake of his serious car crash on September 2, the club said, citing the goalkeepers coach Amer Abdul Wahab.

Abdulrahman was traveling from his home in Kalba to a training session in Al Ain when he was badly injured in a one-car crash. According to the club, he suffered fractures to his jaw, cheek bones and one collar bone. In its statement, the club said he had spent "many days with his family" after leaving a local hospital, where surgery had been performed.

Abdulrahman was the club's top goalkeeper before the accident, and also has been called in to the UAE national team..

The club also announced that Ali Sultan, a defender for Al Dhafra, and former Al Ain player, will undergo surgery for a knee injury "under the umbrella of cooperation agreement between the Al Ain and Al Dhafra clubs".

The fourth week of the 2010/11 Pro League season ended at 9.50pm on Sunday, September 26.

Last season, the first week of the 2090/10 Pro League season began on Friday, September 25.

Thus, the players of the Pro League were finishing their fourth week of play this season just as they were entering their first week, a year ago.

Let's give the players and coaches -- and fans -- credit for sweating through some truly dreadful weather those first three weeks. With temperatures at game time in the 40s, with brutal humidity.

The level of play was as high as could possibly be expected given the brutal climatic conditions, and by the third week, almost every team was running and playing hard. The Wasl-Baniyas game springs to mind.

Those of us who have watched the matches ... we say "bravo", to all of you, players and coaches. And take heart in that it almost certainly will be less taxing from here on out, as summer finally begins to loosen up its death grip on the country.

None of the matches seemed like a shock, but few of us would have predicted it would end with the table in the shape that it is is.

Baniyas and Wasl at the top?

Defending champions Wahda ahead of only three sides?

To be sure, the league is tightly packed, with 18 matches to play. Only four points separate the top nine sides.

And the other three have a battle of their own shaping up -- one to avoid being one of the two sides which will be relegated next springs. Dhafra has three points, Kalba one and Dubai none, and the queer thing about their points -- they got them off of Ahli.

The Nasr-Shabab match was a tale of two halves. Nasr dominated the first 45 minutes, with goals by Carlos Tenorio and a pair from Ismael Bangoura.

But Shabab woke up during half time and answered with goals by Lamine Diarra and Carlos Valenzuela and were a bit unlucky no to snatch a draw.

Big matches next weekend? Ahli at Ain and Baniyas at Al Jazira. Wasl at Sharjah is interesting too.

it is shaping up as a competitive season. The Wahda-Jazira runaway of last season shows no signs of returning, so far.

And the weekend just concluded ... brought us more goals than any so far -- 21, lifting the league scoring average to 3.1 goals per game.

Andre Senghor, the tall and athletic Senegalese striker, scored three goals as Baniyas rolled over Kalba 4-2 and moved atop the Pro League standings, ahead of Al Wasl on goal-differential.

Baniyas are the rising young team of the league. They finished a surprise fourth in the league a year ago, and it is not really a shock that they have started so well, with three victories in four matches and nine points.

Baniyas supporters would concede that the club have not had the toughest schedule so far, with home matches against Al Dhafra and Kalba. Baniyas lost, away, to Wasl 2-1, but won 1-0 away to Al Shabab in the opener.

Senghor now leads the Pro League with six goals, one more than last season's scoring champion, Jose Sand of Al Ain. It is a bit ironic, considering the rumours circulating just before the transfer window closed, 10 days ago, had Baniyas jettisoning Senghor in favour of another foreigner.

As they say in American baseball, sometimes the best deals are the ones that aren't made.