Tuesday, 4 May 2021, 4 pm local time (1 pm UTC), Al Sayed Abbas Al Moussawi (Al Ahed) Stadium, Beirut (Ouzai suburb), Lebanon, quarter-finals of the Lebanese FA Cup.
Bourj FC won 4-1 over a young team of Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley in the quarter-finals of the Lebanese FA Cup and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in 28 years. The last (and only) time that they reached this stage was in 1993, when they also won the competition.
Bourj FC controlled the game from the beginning until the end. They took the lead rather early, as Samih Damaj provided an excellent assist to Fadel Antar, in central position, and Bourj striker did not miss from that position: 1-0 (7'). Fadel Antar could have doubled Bourj advantaged but misjudged a great pass (12'). Al Akhaa Al Ahly equalized from a penalty, given for a foul by Hamza Abboud on Said Awada, and executed by Nader Marrouche: 1-1 (36'). Bourj took the lead again after just a few minutes: Samih Damaj executed a free kick, Rabie Salha saved but the ball was deflected to Fadel Antar, who scored from close range: 2-1 (39').
Fadel Antar (#9) and Ghassan Farran (#40) admire Hussein Al Outa's bicycle kick in the beginning of the second half. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page. Photo by Abdallah Mahfouz.
In the second half, Bourj started well and Hussein Al Outa's bicycle kick almost hit the target (48'). Al Akhaa Al Ahly also tried to come back in the game and had more ball possession, and their biggest chance was a header to the crossbar (60').
The match was eventually decided in the last 15 minutes. Mohamed Safwan (who replaced Ghassan Farran in 62') executed a free kick from the left side, Rabie Salha came out but did not reach the ball, which was sent in front of the goal by Fadel Antar, and Akhmad Al Khatib sent it home: 3-1 (78'). Not long after, a long ball in the opposite box met Hussein Al Outa, who took advantage of the misunderstanding between the goalkeeper and Haide Muhammad, and scored simply: 4-1 (82').
Starting XIs:
Bourj: Afif Zoureik - Hamza Abboud, Khodor Hallak, Ahmad Al Khatib, Walid Ismail - Muhammad Al Faour, Ibrahim Abou Hamdan - Samih Damaj, Hussein Al Outa, Ghassan Farran - Fadel Antar. Manager: Fouad Hijazi.
Al Akhaa Al Ahly: Rabie Salha - Said Awada, Nader Marrouche, Saad Fayyad, Muhammad Qarhani, Habib Shuwaikh, Hatem Eid, Ali Al Markbawi, Ali Kharroubi, Wael Khabbaz, Zahir Hassan.
During the second half, both teams made some changes. The match was broadcasted live by MTV Sports via several media outlets.
In the other matches of the quarter-finals:
Ansar - Shabab Al Ghazieh 2-1
Safa - Shabab El Bourj 1-0
Nejmeh - Al Ahed 1-0
Semifinals:
Nejmeh - Safa
Bourj - Ansar
The semifinals were initially scheduled on Sunday, 9 May, but were later rescheduled for Monday, 10 May 2021. Bourj will have the most difficult mission possible, as they will face the champions Ansar.
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