Second defeat for Bourj at the hands of Ansar, Al Ahed are Lebanese champions

Bourj - Ansar 0-2 (0-0)

Ichaka Diarra 55', Hamza Hussein 90'+4'.

Monday, 18 April 2022, 4 pm local time (1 pm UTC), Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon, the 7th round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.

 Bourj FC starting line-up. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page

Ansar starting line-up. Source: Al Ansar Facebook page

 

The pressure is mounting on Bourj FC, and they have to struggle for three more rounds, until the end of the season, to keep the second place in the Lebanese League, which would be their best league performance in history. This match against Ansar meant the mathematical end of their dream to win the title: Al Ahed won 4-0 over Tadamon Sour and the gap is now 10 points between them and Bourj in second place, which means that Al Ahed are already champions of the 2021-2022 season.

However, Bourj FC needed the points also because they did not want third place Ansar to come too close. This defeat means that there are only 4 points between Bourj in second place and Ansar in third place with three rounds to go, and this is a gap that Bourj should be very careful about. 

Goalkeeper Hassan Moghnieh and Bourj defender Shadi Skaf are trying hard to stop Ansar striker Ahmad Hijazi. Source: Ansar Facebook page.

 

The match was clearly dominated, right from the beginning, by Ansar. Bourj FC ceded the initiative and tried to play on counterattack, minimizing ball possession and launching long balls towards Bersyl Obassi.

Ansar pressure gradually increased and Bourj defenders and goalkeeper Hassan Moghnieh had a hard job in keeping the scoresheet to 0-0. However, the first big opportunity was missed by Bourj FC, more precisely by Abbas Atwi "Onika", who intercepted a imprecise ball from Ichaka Diarra but his shot went slightly wide (37').

Ansar replied with an ever bigger chance, in the stoppage of the first half: Nassar Nassar crossed from the right side, and Ahmad Hijazi headed from short range exactly in the goalkeeper (45'+2').

Bourj FC had to defend most of the time. Source: Ansar Facebook page

 

The second half started much in the same way, with Ansar attacking almost continuously, and increasing the pressure. Their persistence finally paid off: a cross by Nader Matar from the right side was headed in the back of the net by the Malian center back Ichaka Diarra: 0-1 (55').

 

 Ichaka Diarra celebrated the goal along with his teammates. Source: Ansar Facebook page

It was only after the goal when Bourj started to play more offensively, and actually the two teams switched their tactical moods: Ansar withdrew in the defensive, launching dangerous fast breaks, while Bourj attacked in an attempt to equalize.

One of Bourj shots that went wide. Source: Ansar Facebook page

 

Despite changing almost the entire attacking line-up, Bourj could not find their way to the opposite goal. They had numerous set pieces, but could not take any benefit out of them, due to the superior strength of Ansar defense. 

In the final minutes, Bourj risked more and more, sending even the defenders in the attack, and Ansar enjoyed several counterattacks in superiority. Eventually, in one of these breaks, a shot by Majed Osman was saved by Hassan Moghnieh, but Hamza Hussein was there, to head the ball into the net from close range: 0-2 (90'+4').

Bourj: Hassan Moghnieh - Mohamad El Dor (Youssef Anbar 75'), Hassan Bitar, Shadi Skaf, Ibrahim Abou Hamdan - Mohamad Kassem (Hussein Al Outa 60'), Mohamad El Faour - Abou Baker Al Mel (Youssef Atriss 60'), Abbas Atwi "Onika" (Mohamad Sadek 75'), Ali Merkabaoui (Ahmed Moghrabi 60') - Bersyl Obassi. Manager: Fouad Hijazi.

Ansar: Nazih Assaad - Nassar Nassar, Ichaka Diarra, Khaled Al Ali (Hussein El Dor 46'), Hassan Chaito "Shibriko" - Ali Tneich "Al Sisi" (Fayez Chamsin 89'), Nader Matar (Anas Abou Saleh 83'), Youssef El Hajj, Mohamad Hbous (Hamza Hussein 46') - Ahmad Hijazi (Majed Osman 46'), Karim Darwich. Manager: Abdullah Abu Zema.

Referee: Ali Al Ashkar.

 

Yellow card: Mohamad Kassem 59'.

Full results, table and fixtures:

Play-off

 

Round 7 (18 April 2022)

 

Tadamon Sour – Al Ahed 0-4

Shabab Sahel – Shabab El Bourj 1-2

Bourj – Ansar 0-2

 

Table

 

1	Al Ahed	18	14	4	0	40-5	46	Qualified for the AFC Cup
2	Bourj	18	10	6	2	22-13	36
3	Ansar	18	9	5	4	33-13	32
4	Shabab Sahel	18	8	2	8	28-30	26
5	Shabab El Bourj	18	5	3	10	20-36	18
6	Tadamon Sour	18	4	5	9	15-22	17

 

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of head-to-head matches between them are the main ranking criteria.

 

Round 8 (April 2022)

 

Shabab Sahel – Al Ahed

Shabab El Bourj – Bourj

Tadamon Sour – Ansar

 

Play-out

 

Round 7 (19 April 2022)

 

AC Tripoli – Safa 1-2

Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – Nejmeh 0-0

AC Sporting – Hikma / Sagesse 1-2

 

Table

 

7	AC Tripoli	18	8	3	7	20-19	27
8	Nejmeh	18	7	8	3	23-13	23	[1]
9	Hikma / Sagesse	18	7	2	9	14-28	23
10	Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley	18	5	4	9	12-20	19
11	Safa	18	4	4	10	12-27	16	Relegation to Second Division
12	AC Sporting	18	3	2	13	13-26	11	Relegation to Second Division

 

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of head-to-head matches between them are the main ranking criteria.

 

Round 8 (April 2022)

 

Hikma / Sagesse – AC Tripoli

AC Sporting – Nejmeh

Safa – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley

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[1] Nejmeh were deducted 6 points for not attending the game against Al Ahed in round 9.