Bourj FC are winners of the 2021 Lebanese Challenge Cup, 4-2 over AC Tripoli in the final

Sunday, 1 August 2021, 5 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon, Challenge Cup final.

Abou Baker Al Mel (left) and Hussein Al Outa both scored a double for Bourj FC in the Challenge Cup final. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page / Abdallah Mahfouz

Bourj FC won for the second time in a row the Lebanese Challenge Cup, after winning the 2019 and 2021 editions (the competition was not held in 2020). In the 2021 final, Bourj FC faced AC Tripoli, a team they have already defeated in the group stage, but now the victory was even clearer.

Bourj FC starting XI in the Challenge Cup final. Source: elmaestrosport.com

Bourj scored early: Abou Baker Al Mel passed to Hussein Al Outa in the box, and the striker found a perfect shot, above the goalkeeper, into the crossbar and then into the net: 1-0 (5').

Hussein Al Outa (in yellow), one of the heroes of the final for Bourj FC. Source: elmaestrosport.com

Most of the first half, Bourj FC played rather conservatively, though they had several opportunities, especially by Abou Baker Al Mel, very active on the right side. The Tripoli side tried to slowly move the game in their favour, bur only had a couple of dangerous long-range shots.

This situation largely persisted in the second half, when the number of chances increased however. Both teams missed one important chance in the first 20 minutes of the second half, but the real show was in the last 20 minutes or so, when five goals were scored. Ali Merkabaoui, who just came in as a sub, had a great run on the right side, and was stopped only by a foul inside the box (69'). The penalty was transformed by Abou Baker Al Mel: 2-0 (71').

Some of the Bourj FC players celebrating at 2-0. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page / Abdallah Mahfouz

The match seemed solved, but there was much more to come. On a counter, Hussein Ibrahim assisted Hussein Al Outa, who splendidly dribbled the opposite defender and finished in style: 3-0 (75'). This proved the qualities of this footballer, usually playing as a winger, but this time as a central forward, giving full satisfaction in any position.

AC Tripoli had eventually a response, when Mohammad Korhani perfectly executed a free kick from the edge of the box: 3-1 (80'). The last minutes fully belonged to AC Tripoli, as they attacked with all their lines. But, on another break, it was Bourj FC that scored again, by Abou Baker Al Mel, who eventually sent the ball in, after another great run by Ali Merkabaoui, this time on the left side, and an initial shot saved by a defender: 4-1 (83'). The referee awarded easily a penalty for AC Tripoli after a contact between Mohammad Al Faour and a striker. Mohammad Korhani transformed the penalty, which established the final score: 4-2 (88').

Bourj FC: Abdelkarim Saleh - Mohammad El Dor, Hassan Bitar (Khodor Hallak 83'), Shadi Skaff, Youssef Anbar (Ibrahim Abou Hamdan 13') - Hussein Ibrahim "Al Saaouk" (Ali Kharoubi 79'), Mohammad Al Faour - Abou Baker Al Mel "Bako", Abbas Atwi "Onika", Samih Damaj (Ali Merkabaoui 68') - Hussein Al Outa (Hussein Ghanem 80'). Manager: Fouad Hijazi.

AC Tripoli: Ahmad Korhani - Mohammad Korhani, Ahmad Moghrabi, Abdelrazzak Dakramanji (Omar Khayed 76'), Ghazi Hussein, Bassam Zakaria (Mohammad Omar Sadek 56'), Adnan El Kheir (Ghazi Ramzi Hussein 76'), Jihad Eid, Fouad Eid (Mohammad El Samrout 66'), Ali El Rachid, Samir Abdelrahman (Alex Rattel 89'). Manager: Saad Jamil.

The ceremony after the end of the match has not progressed properly, because of a conflict generated during the match between some of the Bourj FC leading figures and some of the Lebanese FA leading figures regarding the access of several Bourj FC fans in the stands.