PA Sport

AMMAN: Al Wihdat's new coach Jamal Mahmoud is hoping to turn his team's fortunes around in their AFC Cup semi-final second leg clash against fellow Jordanians Al Faisaly after a turbulent three-week period.

Mahmoud will have been in charge of the team for just five days by the time Al Wihdat's attempt to overturn the 1-0 defeat they suffered in the first leg last month begins.

Mohammed Mustapha was removed from his position as head coach following the first leg defeat with the club aiming to secure the services of Egyptian coach Mohammed Omar, who led the team to the league title two years ago.

But the deal hit a hitch and, as a result, assistant coach Mahmoud will take the team into the match-up with the defending champions.

"Certain conditions have put me as a coach with the team," said Jamal. "But I hope that I will be up to the task that the club has given me and the first thing that I did is to change the mood of the players after dispensing with the services of coach Mustapha."

"We started our serious preparations on Saturday and we went into a closed camp on Sunday after all our international players returned to the team. I tried to strengthen the weaknesses that were clear in the first leg."

"The clash is of two halves; Al Faisaly won with one goal in the first and the second half (the second leg) will be decisive to determine who will qualify. Al Faisaly are tough opponents and we will have to work very hard in order to edge them."

Jamal will be relying on several Jordanian international players who returned to the team after their participation with the national team in their 3-0 win against Pakistan in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers last Wednesday.

Defensive midfielder Ashraf Shattat will be returning to the side after recovering from his recent injury while right winger Amer Deeb will miss the game as he is suspended after receiving his second yellow card of the competition in the first leg.

Al Faisaly will also be without two key players for the game as defender Hattem Aqel and striker Moayad Salim will be out due to suspension after they received their second yellow cards in the tournament in the first leg.

"Al Faisaly are a big team and will not be affected by missing one or two players," said Al Faisaly Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad.

"We have suitable substitutes for them and we'll have a certain plan to face Al Wihdat's attacks."

"We know that we have a tough opponent to play against but our aim is to reach to the final. The clash between both sides is unpredictable and we'll not play for a draw. We'll go out for victory."