Saturday, the 17th of October 2020, 3.30 pm local time (12.30 pm UTC), Amin Abdelnour Stadium, Bhamdoun (Aley), Lebanon, the third round of the Lebanese Premier League.
Bourj FC starting line-up against Safa. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page
After two difficult games, a 3-2 defeat in front of the defending champions Al Ahed and a 0-0 draw against rivals Shabab Sahel, Bourj FC succeeded to win their first match this season. And it was a clear win against a team, Safa, which did not lose any of the two previous games, and were in excellent shape, as proved by their 3-0 win away at AC Tripoli a week ago and their 1-1 draw against Nejmeh, one of the favourites for the title, in the first round.
From the very beginning of the game, Bourj FC showed their offensive intentions, and a shot by Mohamad Jaafar hit the cross bar (9'). Abou Baker Al-Mel launched Mohamad Jaafar in the area, goalkeeper Hassan Hussein came late and collided with Mohamad Jaafar (16'). The referee whistled before Hussein Al Outa scored, so there was no goal, but a penalty was given. The referee whistled early because the two players seemed to be gravely injured, especially the goalkeeper, and they needed to be attended immediately. It took seven minutes until goalkeeper Hassan Hussein was able to move, and he received a yellow card, and replaced by Talal Dandashli. Abou Baker Al-Mel transformed the penalty: 0-1 (23'). Not long after, Mohamad Jaafar won a ball in midfield, and Safa defence was caught by surprise, as Mohamad Kassem assisted Mohamad Nasser to make it 0-2 (25'). However, at this score, Safa started to attack furiously and had a couple of good chances by Sultan Haidar and Kassem Hayek towards the end of the first half. There were seven minutes of stoppage time for the first half, and in the last of these minutes, Walid Ismail negligently fouled Sultan Haidar at the edge of the area. Akram Moghrabi transformed the penalty: 1-2 (45'+8') at half time.
Bourj FC already had 2-1 at half time in their match against Al Ahed, which they ended up losing 3-2, so they were much more careful this time in the second half. Safa continued to press for an equalizer, but the Bourj defence resisted, and they also kept the same number of players in the attack, to try a third goal. Both teams had chances, but the score did not change. The game was very fragmented, there were many fouls and yellow cards. Safa's Kassem Hayek was injured (75') and was unable to continue, while his team made all the possible substitutions in three different moments of the match. Therefore, Safa remained in ten men for the last 15 minutes, and Bourj FC knew how to take full benefit from such an advantage. Freshly entered in the field Zain Al Abidin Farran received a pass from Mohamad Naser and finalized a great counterattack with a shot from inside the area: 1-3 (82'). The game was pretty much over, but another break led by the same Zain Al Abidin Farran ended up in an own goal scored by Mustafa Al Shamaa, who mistakenly headed Farran's in his own net: 1-4 (88').
Safa: Hassan Hussein (Talal Dandashli 22') - Sultan Haidar, Hamza Salami (Youssef Hajj 58'), Hassan Kadi, Kassem Hayek, Akram Moghrabi, Ahmed Jalloul, Mohamad Tahan, Ali Tahan (Hassan Al Muhammad 68'), Mohamad Nasir Al Din, Mustafa Al Shamaa.
Bourj: Abdel Al Karim Saleh - Hamza Abboud, Khodor Hallak, Ahmad Al Khatib - Mohamad Kassem (Hassan Al Annan 86'), Hussein Ibrahim (Mohamad Al Faour 90'+2') - Abou Baker Al-Mel (Zain Al Abidin Farran 70'), Mohamad Jaafar (Ibrahim Abou Hamdan 90'+2'), Hussein Al Outa - Mohamad Naser (Hussein Ghanem 86'). Head coach: Mohamad Dakka.
Referee: Jamil Ramadan.
Yellow cards: Hassan Hussein 22', Youssef Hajj 78', Akram Moghrabi 90' - Khodor Hallak 49', Mohamad Kassem 62', Abdel Al Karim Saleh 70', Zain Al Abidin Farran 73'.
The full match was broadcasted live by the Lebanese Football Association on YouTube and is available for watching.
In the fourth round, the next week-end, Bourj FC will meet last classified Salam Zgharta at Al Ahed Stadium in Ouzai (Beirut), while Safa will play against Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley at Jounieh Stadium.
It is interesting to note that Bourj's head coach Mohamad Dakka changed slightly the team in the attack, compared to the previous two games, introducing for the first time a full striker, Mohamad Naser, while Mohamad Jaafar withdrew to the position of secondary striker, or attacking midfielder, where he seems to be more efficient. Mohamad Kassem was also withdrawn from the position of attacking midfielder to that of central midfielder / playmaker, but he is very good anywhere in the field. It was an excellent game for all the players, and the team needed this win very much after a rather disappointing start. Bourj FC are now in fifth position with 4 points, the same as Safa, which are sixth only due to goal difference.
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