• "Eagles" stumble and a valuable gift for northern invaders

The 20th round of the Jordanian Pro League kicked off with shocking surprises that reshaped the title race and intensified the relegation battle. The league’s second-place contender fell into defeat, while the “escape from the bottom” clash ended in a positive draw.

In one of the biggest surprises of the round, Shabab Al-Ordon snatched a valuable 1-0 victory over Al-Faisaly on Thursday evening at Amman International Stadium.

The match’s only goal came as an “own goal” in the 12th minute when Al-Faisaly defender Omar Marar mistakenly scored in his own net. Al-Faisaly failed to equalize for the remainder of the match.

The result left Al-Faisaly with 40 points in second place, giving leaders Al-Hussein Irbid (40 points) a golden chance to take sole control of the top spot with a win or draw in their upcoming Saturday match, while Shabab Al-Ordon boosted their hopes, moving up to eighth place with 21 points.

“Fair” Draw Between Al-Ahli and Al-Salt

At Petra Stadium, Al-Ahli and visiting Al-Salt played out a 1-1 draw. Al-Ahli opened the scoring through Abdulrahman Al-Kas in the 39th minute, but the “White Lion” lead lasted only two minutes before Hamza Ziyad equalized for Al-Salt in the 41st minute.

With this result, Al-Salt moved to 26 points in fifth place, while Al-Ahli remained ninth with 13 points, still struggling in the relegation battle.

Spotlight on “Bride of the North”

Round 20 continues on Friday at 10 p.m. with an important clash between Al-Ramtha (35 points) and visiting Al-Jazeera (23 points) at Al-Hassan Stadium in Irbid.

Al-Ramtha aims to take advantage of Al-Faisaly’s stumble to reduce the gap and maintain third place, while Al-Jazeera looks to improve their mid-table position.

Round Concludes Saturday: Anticipated Title Showdown

The round will wrap up on Saturday with two decisive matches: Al-Baqa’a faces Al-Sarhan at Petra Stadium, while all eyes will be on King Abdullah II Stadium for the “clash of the titans” between Al-Wehdat and Al-Hussein, a game that could significantly determine the title race following Al-Faisaly’s recent setback.

Standings After Thursday’s Results:

• Al-Hussein: 40 points

• Al-Faisaly: 40 points

• Al-Ramtha: 35 points

• Al-Wehdat: 34 points

• Al-Salt: 26 points