Al-Ahli youth player Eid Khamees expressed his happiness at the team finishing the first round of the ADNOC Pro League at the top of the table with 32 points, one point ahead of Al-Ain, and securing the title of Winter Champion. However, he clarified that what matters is to deal with the remaining matches one by one, pointing out that the league is still long and that the team has a tough marathon to complete in order to be crowned league champions at the end. Khamees said in press statements after the resounding victory achieved by 'Dubai's Knights' with a clean sheet of seven goals against Dba last evening as part of the 13th round of the league in the presence of about 1500 spectators: 'We are the Winter Champions, but the league is long, it's like a marathon, and we have to think about each match separately to be crowned champions at the end of the season'. This is the sixth time, and the second in a row, that the team has achieved this honorary title, which in most cases gives initial indications of the identity of the competition's champion, and this season it broke the historical partnership with Al-Ain in the number of times winning it, as the two teams were tied with five titles each. 'The Reds' were crowned Winter Champions in the 2008-2009, 2013-2014, 2019-2020, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons, and in all the seasons in which they won this honorary title, they were subsequently crowned league champions, except for the 2019-2020 edition, which was canceled due to the 'Covid-19' pandemic. Eid Khamees praised the team's attacking effectiveness, which he considered a direct reason for the recent strong results, and said: 'At the beginning of the season, we had some difficulties in the front line, we were creating chances but not investing them, but things improved after that and we benefited from them'. He also praised the solidarity of the management and the support of the fans, adding: 'We agreed to appear in a good image, and to unite to reach the top'. On the other hand, Dba player Abdullah Khamees said that the numerical shortage in his team's ranks after the expulsion of players greatly affected the course of the match, pointing out that they faced a strong and complete team. The player, whose team dropped to the penultimate place with nine points, added: 'Between the two halves, we agreed not to concede any more goals in our goal, but the expulsion and the penalty at the beginning of the second half affected us, we must turn the page on this loss and prepare for the next match against Al-Wahda'.
