Fifth consecutive draw for Bourj FC, 0-0 to Safa

Safa - Bourj FC 0-0

Saturday, 20 November 2021, 2:15 pm local time (12:15 pm UTC), Amin Abdelnour Stadium, Bhamdoun (Aley), Lebanon, 6th round of the Lebanese Premier League.

On an unusually cold and rainy day, and a swampy pitch, Bourj and Safa could not score and the match ended 0-0. This is the fifth consecutive draw for Bourj FC, which managed to stay unbeaten this season, but they have not yet secured a place in the top 6 to get into the play-off round, and all these draws might keep them further away from the leaders. Safa, on the other hand, are in an even more uncomfortable position in the bottom half of the table.

 Bourj FC players and staff honoured the memory of Ramez Ammar, club secretary, who passed away. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page

It is interesting to note that many usual Bourj starting players have not featured in this game from the beginning (or not at all), including defenders Mohamad El Dor and Khodor Hallak, midfielders Abbas Atwi "Onika" and Ali Kharoubi, or forwards Abou Baker Al Mel and Hussein Al Outa. This "experimental" Bourj team suffered quite a lot in certain moments of the game, especially at the beginning of each half, when Safa clearly dominated and the match was played almost entirely in Bourj half.

In the first half, however, Safa did not have any chances, despite their attacking pressure, which faded away after 20 minutes or so. Bourj FC responded on the counterattack and after a few loose shots, the first shots to be on target belonged to Ibrahim Abou Hamdan (31') and Hassan Mehanna (43'), the latter being the best opportunity before the break.

The second half started again with Safa in attack, and this time they had a good opportunity: from a set piece, on the left side, the ball reached Mohamed Shour, all alone in the centre of the box, but he missed the target (55'). The same as in the first half, Bourj FC regained control of the match, and started to create chances towards the end of the match. Hassan Mehanna and Hussein Ghanem escaped towards the opposite goal but failed to convert their chances. However, the biggest goal opportunity belonged to Safa, in stoppage time. Hassan Hazima had a great run on the left and crossed perfectly, but his teammate missed from the 6 yard box, right in front of the goal, a position from which it is easier to score than to miss (90'+5').

Safa: Talal Dandashli - Mohamed Shour, Hassan Hazima, Mohamed Zein Tahan, Ahmed Jalloul, Moussa Al Taweel, Haider Khreis (Ali Belhas 90'+4'), Mohamed Nasir El-Din (Mohamed Al Mohammed 77'), Hussein Sharaf El-Din, Rony Azar (Hikmat Moghnieh 89'), Ali Hammoud.

Bourj: Hassan Moghnieh - Ibrahim Abou Hamdan (Ali Kharoubi 88'), Ahmed Al Khatib, Hassan Bitar, Youssef Anbar - Mohamad Al Faour (Youssef Atriss 60'), Hussein Ibrahim "Saaouk", Mohamad Kassem (Abbas Ali Atwi "Onika" 60') - Samih Damaj (Hussein Al Outa 72'), Akram Moghrabi (Hussein Ghanem 72'), Hassan Mehanna. Manager: Fouad Hijazi.

Referee: Samer Al-Sayed Kassem.

Yellow cards: Rony Azar 37', Ahmed Jalloul 80' - Hussein Ibrahim "Saaouk" 42'.

The Lebanese Premier League takes another large break, for one month, and will resume only a few days before Christmas, on 21 and 22 December, when Bourj will play away at AC Tripoli, while Safa will play away at Hikma / La Sagesse.