The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium will see a very important ‘middle-east clash’ as Palestine faces Jordan. Geographical neighbours, Palestine and Jordan not only share borders but Jordan has been a crucial ally for Palestine. Due to the Israel-Palestine conflict, Palestinians can only travel internationally from the Jordan borders, furthermore, Jordan provides aid for a great number of Palestinian refugees. However, the game is not expected to see any friendly discounts as both teams are itching to get some points besides their name.
In their first game, Jordan suffered a 0-1 defeat against Iraq, while Palestine experienced a 0-4 rout against Asian powerhouse, Japan. Both teams lack points and will try to make best of this game, as they face a tough 3rd game. It is expected Jordan will start as favourites against Palestine, who got Asian Cup entry as the AFC Challenge Cup winners, often touted as a backdoor entry for Asian Cup.
History also seems to be against Palestine. In the seven games played between these two opponents, Palestine is yet to win a game, while 4 games has been a draw. Both teams are also in a poor patch of form. Jordan has not won a game in their last 11 matches, with only two draws. They have lost all the last 6 games. The team chemistry seems to be poor as well, as in their opening game they could complete only 60% of their passes. Palestine, on the other hand, hasn’t scored a goal in their last three games.
Palestine would try to use their foreign based players to the fullest in this game where they have the most likely chance of earning some points. Slovenian born pacy diminutive forward Jaka Ihbeisheh will need to gather all his European experience to bring joy to this conflict torn nation. Captain Ramzi Saleh, the Egypt based goalie will need to be at his best to thwart the Jordanian attacks. However, one man who really needs to up his game is Asraf Numan, who was in a great form in the AFC Challenge Cup but was nowhere to be found during the game against Japan. Saeb Jendaya, the Palestinian coach would look forward to this clash and must have prepared intensely for this particular game against this more familiar opponent.
Jordan will clearly miss front-man Ahmad Hayel. In his absence, the Jordan star Abdallah Deeb will need to take extra responsibility of both creating and scoring. Ray Wilkins, the former Chelsea, QPR and Fulham coach will be feeling the pressure with the recent poor form. He will hope that 23-year winger Khalil Bani Attiah and Hamza Al-Dardour will deliver their best in this game and keep their hopes alive for the qualification.
Source: http://www.indianfootballnetwork.com/blog/2015/01/16/jordan-vs-palestine-live-stream-free-afc-asian-cup-2015-preview/
