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.