Al Ahed - undefeated champions, Bourj might lose the second place in favour of Ansar

Bourj FC - Al Ahed 0-2 (0-0)

Mohamad Nasser 66', Ahmad Zreik 86'.

Friday, 20 May 2022, 4 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon, the 10th (last) round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.

 Al Ahed are the Lebanese champions for the 8th time. Source: elmaestrosport.com

Al Ahed won their 8th title in style, winning the last match against Bourj FC, although they were already champions regardless of the result. On the other hand, Bourj FC would have needed to win, in order to stay in second place. This Bourj defeat might mean that Ansar can leapfrog Bourj even with a draw in their last match of the season against Shabab El Bourj, postponed for the 4th of June, due to the Ansar participation in the AFC Cup. In case Ansar do not lose in front of Shabab El Bourj, Bourj FC will lose the second place (which would be their best league performance ever) and will finish in third place.

Despite the very friendly atmosphere, generated by the Al Ahed celebrations taking place even before the start of the game, the match itself was quite entertaining. Al Ahed took the control from the very beginning but missed plenty of chances in the first half, when the Bourj defense seemed too relaxed and careless, but they were lucky not to receive a goal. The only Bourj chance came in 28', when Akram Moghrabi remained one on one with goalkeeper Mostafa Matar, but preferred a pass to Ali Merkabaoui to his right, and Merkabaoui's shot was saved.

In the second half, Bourj tried to maintain possession as long as possible in the beginning, but every Al Ahed charge led to a serious goal opportunity. Mohamad Nasser's shot was saved by Hassan Moghnieh (61') while Ahmad Zreik hit the side post (62'). Not long after, Hussein Monzer launched Mohamad Nasser in the box, and his precise shot went into the back of the net: 0-1 (66').

Bourj FC could have equalized, but Samih Damaj (81') and Mohamad Sadek (83') missed excellent opportunities from close range.

It was all over when Mohamad Nasser entered the box on the right and assisted Ahmed Zreik exactly in front of the goal, to score easily: 0-2 (86').

Bourj: Hassan Moghnieh - Mohamad El Dor, Khodor Hallak, Hassan Bitar, Shadi Skaf - Mohamad Al Faour, Youssef Atriss (Ali Chaito 57') - Hussein Al Outa (Samih Damaj 67'), Ali Merkabaoui (Mohamad Sadek 57') - Akram Moghrabi. Manager: Fouad Hijazi.

Al Ahed starting line-up: Mostafa Matar - Ali Hadid, Habib Chwayekh, Nour Mansour, Haysam Faour, Hassan Srour, Mohamad Haidar, Hussein Zein, Hussein Monzer, Ahmad Zreik, Mohamad Nasser. Manager: Bassem Marmar.

Referee: Mohamad Darwich (who was congratulated for his last match as a referee, as he retired after this game).

While Al Ahed celebrations went along for some time after the game was over, Bourj FC did not have too many reasons to celebrate. They were second for most of the season, and even thought about the title at a certain moment. But, after the title was mathematically impossible, their results started to decline and they are now in the situation to be content with the third place, unless a miracle happens in the match between Ansar and Shabab El Bourj.

Moreover, Bourj FC captain Abbas Atwi "Onika" announced his retirement from football, after 20 years in the Lebanese Premier League, the first years and the last one as Bourj FC player.

Bourj FC captain, Abbas Ali Atwi "Onika" (in yellow, right, #10), announced his retirement. Source: elmaestrosport.com

A few days ago, relegation was also decided. In the decisive match, Hikma / Sagesse won 1-0 over Safa, sending Safa to the Second Division.

Two matches remain to be played, Ansar - Shabab El Bourj (which may decide the second place) and AC Tripoli - Nejmeh (which may decide the seventh place). They are both scheduled for the 4th of June.

Results and tables:

Play-off

Round 10 (20 May 2022)

 

Bourj – Al Ahed 0-2

Tadamon Sour – Shabab Sahel 1-4

Shabab El Bourj – Ansar - to be played on 4 June 2022

 

Table

 

1	Al Ahed (C)	21	16	5	0	46-6	53	Qualified for the AFC Cup
2	Bourj	21	10	7	4	23-17	37
3	Ansar	20	10	6	4	36-15	36
4	Shabab Sahel	21	9	3	9	33-35	30
5	Shabab El Bourj	20	6	4	10	23-38	22
6	Tadamon Sour	21	4	6	11	19-30	18

 

C – Champions

 

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.

 

 

Play-out

Round 10 (17 May 2022)

 

Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – AC Sporting 4-0

Hikma / Sagesse – Safa 1-0

AC Tripoli – Nejmeh – to be played on 4 June 2022

 

Table

 

7	Nejmeh	20	9	8	3	28-15	29	[1]
8	AC Tripoli	20	8	4	8	21-22	28
9	Hikma / Sagesse	21	8	3	10	16-31	27
10	Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley	21	7	4	10	18-24	25
11	Safa (R)	21	6	4	11	19-29	22	Relegated to the Second Division
12	AC Sporting (R)	21	3	2	15	16-32	11	Relegated to the Second Division

 

R – Relegated

 

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.

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

1. FK Svidník continue their good run, winning 3-1 over MFK Snina

1. FK Svidník - MFK Snina 3-1 (1-1)

Ivanecký 7', Mihalčin 65' (own goal), Hirka 86' - Kridla 30'.

Sunday, 8 May 2022, 4:30 pm local time (2:30 pm UTC), Mestský futbalový štadion, Svidník, Slovakia, the 24th round of the Slovak Third League - East Group (3. Liga - Východ).

MFK Snina (in black), the referees and 1. FK Svidník (in red) before the start of the game. Source: capture from the YouTube video of the match

Once again, 1. FK Svidník succeeds to win over a better team (at least on paper), this time MFK Snina, continuing their positive run, although they have lately met teams in the upper half of the classification.

The match started very well for Svidník. After a corner, Rafael Guman, Kristián Hirka and Dávid Ivanecký launched a deadly counterattack, finalized by Ivanecký with a shot from inside the box: 1-0 (7').

The visitors took control of the game and attacked much more, but the Svidník side responded well. The greatest chance for Snina was a shot which hit the crossbar (21'). The home side had also a couple of opportunities, but Kristián Hirka and then Rafael Guman missed the target (26').

The equalizer finally came after an action on the right side, Peter Kridla entering the box and placing the shot to the near post: 1-1 (30').

At this score, both teams struggled a lot to take the lead, both at the end of the first half and in the beginning of the second half. Opportunities came at both ends of the field, but goalkeepers worked miracles.

The home side eventually scored after a dreadful mistake of the Snina defense: Kristián Hirka launched a ball towards the box, and Patrik Mihalčin headed the ball home, not noticing that the goalkeeper was already out to collect it: 2-1 (65'). 

Such a goal is truly demoralizing, and the visitors tried in vain to equalize once again. On the contrary, Svidník played very ambitiously, and they finally settled the game in the last minutes. Dávid Ivanecký retrieved a ball in midfield, launched a charge, passing to the right side to Kristián Hirka, who scored from inside the box: 3-1 (86').

Svidník: Vinclér - T. Čabala, D. Čabala, Tatar, Makara - Špilár - Guman, Hirka, Ivanecký, Gajdoš (Luščík 63') - Haňak (Bartoš 90'). Manager: Vladislav Palša.

Snina: Burda - Mihalčin (Klučiar 66'), Jankaj, Kridla, Dický, Janko, Ondika, Skavšík, Losiev, Kroka (Piliar 76'), Iablonskii (Bednár 76'). Manager: René Kočan.

Referee: Dominik Ružbarský.

Yellow cards: Makara 53' - Mihalčin 10', Dický 64', Klučiar 90'.

With this win, 1. FK Svidník are getting farther from the last place in the table, which would mean relegation to the Fifth League in the next season. In the next round, they will play away at MŠK Spišské Podhradie, while MFK Snina will face OFK-SIM Raslavice at home.

Full results, table and fixtures:

Round 24 (7-8 May 2022)

 

OŠK Rudňany – MFK Vranov nad Topľou 2-3

1. FC Tatran Prešov – MŠK Tesla Stropkov 0-0

ŠK Odeva Lipany – FK Spišská Nová Ves 4-1

FK Pokrok SEZ Krompachy – MŠK Spišské Podhradie 2-3

Slávia TU Košice – TJ Mladosť Kalša 3-1

FK Sobrance-Sobranecko – MFK Slovan Giraltovce 1-1

OFK-SIM Raslavice – FK Poprad 0-2

1. FK Svidník – MFK Snina 3-1

 

Table

 

1	1. FC Tatran Prešov	24	20	1	3	81-17	61	Promotion to 2. Liga
2	FK Spišská Nová Ves	24	17	4	3	64-19	55
3	ŠK Odeva Lipany	24	15	5	4	69-21	50
4	MŠK Tesla Stropkov	24	15	4	5	56-17	49
5	Slávia TU Košice	24	14	5	5	59-27	47
6	MFK Snina	24	14	3	7	50-28	45
7	MFK Vranov nad Topl’ou	24	13	4	7	49-33	43
8	FK Poprad	24	12	6	6	39-24	42
9	MFK Slovan Giraltovce	24	7	6	11	27-33	27	Relegation to 4. Liga
10	TJ Mladosť Kalša	24	8	3	13	41-63	27	Relegation to 4. Liga
11	MŠK Spišské Podhradie	24	6	4	14	22-68	22	Relegation to 4. Liga
12	FK Sobrance-Sobranecko	24	5	6	13	28-43	21	Relegation to 4. Liga
13	1. FK Svidník	24	5	2	17	19-75	17	Relegation to 4. Liga
14	OFK-SIM Raslavice	24	4	3	17	22-59	15	Relegation to 4. Liga
15	OŠK Rudňany	24	4	1	19	31-79	13	Relegation to 4. Liga
16	FK Pokrok SEZ Krompachy	24	3	3	18	20-71	12	Relegation to 5. Liga

 

In case that two or more teams are equal on points, the main ranking criteria are the results of the head-to-head matches.

 

Round 25 (14-15 May 2022)

 

FK Poprad – ŠK Odeva Lipany

FK Spišská Nová Ves – 1. FC Tatran Prešov

MFK Slovan Giraltovce – FK Pokrok SEZ Krompachy

TJ Mladosť Kalša – MFK Vranov nad Topľou

FK Sobrance-Sobranecko – OŠK Rudňany

MŠK Tesla Stropkov – Slávia TU Košice

MŠK Spišské Podhradie – 1. FK Svidník

MFK Snina – OFK-SIM Raslavice