Arab players made a strong presence in the first half of the 'ADNOC Pro League' stage, as their names shone in the race for top scorers and they directly contributed to their teams' results. This reaffirms the technical value of the Arab player in the competition, led by Syrian Omar Kharbin, along with Moroccan Karim Bourkawi and Iraqi Mahmod Ali. Although Togolese Laba Kodjo tops the scorers' list at the end of the first half with 15 goals, Arab stars were also present right behind him. Omar Kharbin finished the first half in second place with 11 goals, while 'Al-Dhafra' and 'Dibba' players, Moroccan Karim Bourkawi and Iraqi Mahmod Ali, shared third place with six goals each. Arab-origin players also made a notable presence in the top scorers' list, including 'Al-Jazira's French player of Algerian origin, Nabil Fakir, who shared fourth place with this season's new 'Khorfakkan' signing, Dutch player of Moroccan origin, Tarik Tissoudali. 'Emirates Today' reviews the performance of the three Arab players who excelled during the first half of the season, as follows: 1. Omar Kharbin. Al-Wahda star, Syrian Omar Kharbin (32 years old), continued his brilliance for the new season with his team after opening his scoring account by scoring two goals for 'Al-Anabi' against Ajman, before scoring the opening goal in the 5-2 win over Al-Dhafra in Round 4. He also scored his team's second goal in the 3-2 win over Al-Nasr in Round 7, and a goal in the 1-1 draw with Dibba in Round 8. Kharbin repeated the scoring in Round 10, which ended with Al-Wahda winning 1-0, and added a hat-trick against Bani Yas in Round 12, concluding the first half with a brace that led his team to a draw against Al-Ain. 2. Karim Bourkawi. Al-Dhafra succeeded last summer in signing the historical top scorer of Saudi Arabia's Al-Raed, Moroccan Karim Bourkawi (30 years old), in a deal that has proven successful, as the player managed to find the net in six matches. Bourkawi opened his goalscoring account in Round 2 by scoring his team's second goal against Al-Wasl in a match that ended with Al-Dhafra winning 3-1, before scoring the winning goal against Dibba in Round 3 (2-1). He added a brace against Al-Wahda in Round 4, despite his team's loss (2-5), and repeated the brace in the 3-1 win over Al-Bataeh in Round 5. 3. Mahmod Ali. Dibba contracted Iraqi international Mahmod Ali (25 years old) last summer, enabling the player to quickly present his credentials with his team, which recently returned to the Pro League. Mahmod Ali scored six goals, opening them by scoring against Al-Ain in a match that 'The Leader' narrowly won 3-2 in Round 2, before scoring another goal in Round 3 against Al-Dhafra despite his team's loss (1-2). He also scored the equalizer against Al-Nasr in Round 5, and repeated the same scenario in Rounds 7 and 8, giving his team a draw against Bani Yas (2-2) and Al-Wahda (1-1). Mahmod Ali concluded the first half by scoring the winning goal against Al-Bataeh, giving Dibba its first league win last January.
