AMMAN: Jordan league champions Al Wihdat will look to press home their slight advantage on Monday when they meet league rivals and defending AFC Cup champions Al Faisaly in the second leg of the semi-finals at the Amman International Stadium.

Beaten at the same stage by the same opponents last year, Al Wihdat will have a chance to extract revenge after a hard-fought 1-1 draw in the opening encounter three weeks ago.

Siraj Tall put the holders ahead two minutes before the break but Mahmoud Shelbaieh netted what could prove to be an invaluable equaliser in the 69th minute.

Although that game was also played at the Amman International Stadium, Al Faisaly were designated as the home side, giving Al Wihdat a precious away goal for the return match.

But while a goalless draw would be enough to send Al Wihdat through to the final, the club’s Egyptian coach, Ismail Yusuf, said that his side will still be seeking a victory on Monday.

“The match is a derby for both sides and it is a special clash because the winners will go through to the final of the AFC Cup. I think that the chances are even for both sides despite our good result in the first leg,” said Yusuf.

“We are a big team and our players know very well that we can’t only count on a draw. We will not be looking to what happened in the first leg and we will try to take advantage of the chances that we will have in this game.”

The match was originally scheduled to be played on Tuesday but the AFC allowed it to be brought forward by a day to give the Jordan national team players on both clubs more time to prepare for the second leg of their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan, which will be played next Sunday.

Meanwhile, Al Faisaly coach Adnan Hamad is hoping for an improvement by his players after their lacklustre performance in the first leg.

“There will be some pressure on us as we have to score in the second leg,” said the Iraqi.

“However, the matches between Al Faisaly and Al Wihdat are not predictable. We controlled the first leg and opened the scoring but our players retreated into defence and that cost us as we conceded the equalizer.

“We have to be at our best in the game and try to take advantage of our opportunities especially after missing a lot of chances in the first leg,” added the ex-Iraq national coach.

“Both teams have a good chance to progress and whoever scores will qualify for the final of the competition.” – PA Sport