Shabab Al-Ghazieh - Bourj FC 0-1 (0-0)
Ali Chaito 90'+3'.
Saturday, 28 January 2023, 2:15 pm local time (12:15 UTC), Imam Musa Al-Sadr (Ansar) Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon, 4th round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.
Bourj FC played their first match under their new manager, Hussein Tahan, former player and former assistant manager under the last two Bourj FC managers, Fouad Hijazi and Osama Al Sakr. It was very important for him, and also for the team, to start his job with a win, in front of an accessible rival, such as Shabab Al-Ghazieh.
Although Bourj FC had control of the entire game, and missed so many opportunities that it is difficult for anyone to list them all, they nearly lost the match in stoppage time, and were very close to a goalless draw. It would have been the culmination of bad luck if this had happened.
Bourj FC starting XI. Photo source: the-lfa.com
Shabab Al-Ghazieh starting XI and some of their supporters. Photo source: the-lfa.com
The match started with Bourj FC launching a full offensive, with lots of shots, corner kicks, and chances emerging in and around Shabab Al-Ghazieh's box. Ahmed Diab, Shabab Al-Ghazieh goalkeeper, defended everything that was to be defended. A cross by Mahmoud Kawar reached Richard Baffour, who performed a spectacular scissor kick into the crossbar, then Ahmed Diab saved Mohamed Sadek's shot (16').
Towards the end of the first half, Dennis Tetteh, reconverted as a centre forward, had two magnificent shots (37' and 39') but Ahmed Diab saved or the shot went slightly wide. The big surprise came just before half time, when Richard Baffour executed on target a free kick from a very long distance (almost the centre of the field) and hit the crossbar again (44')!
The second half continued much in the same way. A cross from the right side was headed by Richard Baffour from close range, but Ahmed Diab had a miraculous save (53').
The game seemed to have a turning point when Mohamad Al Faour intentionally stopped the ball with his hand in one of the few counterattacks launched by Shabab Al-Ghazieh, and he was sent off (64').
Even down to ten men, Bourj FC dominated the match and attacked constantly. Mohamad Sadek's long-range shot was deflected by Ahmed Diab into the side post (68'). The fourth time that one of the posts was hit was in the last ten minutes. Richard Baffour, again in the opposite box, received a ball from the left side, and struck it hard into the crossbar (83'). It was the third time that Richard Baffour, a central defender, hit the crossbar in a single game!
The match was played in and around Shabab Al-Ghazieh's box for most of the time. Photo source: the-lfa.com
The whole game was decided in stoppage time. The first dangerous action by Shabab Al-Ghazieh in the match almost led to a goal. It was a powerful shot from outside the box by Ali Al-Hadi Reda, Abdelkarim Saleh did not catch the ball, which went to Imad Ghaddar, who pushed the ball in from close range (90'+2'). The goal was cancelled for offside to Imad Ghaddar, despite the protests of Shabab Al-Ghazieh players, staff and supporters.
The action moved to the other side, when Dennis Tetteh, in the box, decided to take the ball out of there and passed back to Ali Chaito, whose precise shot from the edge of the box to the far post hit the target and triggered great celebrations for Bourj FC fans: 0-1 (90'+3').
The last minutes of stoppage time saw more action from Shabab Al-Ghazieh's side than the previous 93 minutes, but it did not change the score sheet.
Shabab Al-Ghazieh: Ahmed Diab - Mustafa Al-Shamaa, Hassan Mallah (Imad Ali Ghaddar 80'), Ezra Amelinsa, Kasim Leela, Salim Hammadi (Ali Al-Hadi Reda 68'), Mohamad Serdah, Zakaria Shalhoub (Imad Ghaddar 46'), Sajid Amhaz, Haider Abu Zaid, Chizoba Ibe (Rami Fakih 46'). Manager: Hassan Hassoun.
Bourj: Abdelkarim Saleh - Mohamad El Dor (Shadi Skaf 70'), Khodor Hallak, Richard Baffour, Youssef Anbar - Mohamad Al Faour, Mohamad Sibaii "Wartan" (Ali Chaito 56') - Mahmoud Kawar (Ali Merkabaoui 56'), Khaled Takaji (Hussein Ibrahim "Saaouk" 70'), Mohamad Sadek (Saad Al Shawiki 90'+6') - Dennis Tetteh. Manager: Hussein Tahan.
Referee: Mohamad Issa.
Yellow cards: Hassan Mallah 62', Sajid Ahmaz 81', Ezra Amelinsa 89' - Ali Chaito 90'+3'.
Red card: Mohamad Al Faour 64'.
In the next round, Bourj FC will face Nejmeh away, at Fouad Chehab Stadium in Jounieh, on Sunday, 5 February, probably at 4 pm, while Shabab Al-Ghazieh will play away at Al Ahed, probably on Saturday, 4 February. In the main match of the round, Al Ahed and Ansar drew 0-0.
Full results, table and fixtures:
Play-off
Round 4 (28-29 January 2023)
Shabab Al-Ghazieh – Bourj 0-1
Nejmeh – Shabab Sahel 2-0
Al Ahed – Ansar 0-0
Table
|
1 |
Ansar |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
35-8 |
22 |
(+) |
|
2 |
Al Ahed |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
27-10 |
20 |
|
|
3 |
Nejmeh |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
22-8 |
20 |
(+) |
|
4 |
Shabab Sahel |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
21-11 |
17 |
(+) |
|
5 |
Bourj |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
20-19 |
16 |
(+) |
|
6 |
Shabab Al-Ghazieh |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
13-24 |
6 |
|
(+) Points have been rounded up.
If two or more teams have the same number of points, the teams that had their points rounded up will be classified below those which had their points halved neatly, as the main ranking criterion, followed by the head-to-head results, the goal difference, and the number of goals scored.
Initial classification before the start of the play-off: Ansar 14p, Shabab Sahel 13p, Al Ahed, Nejmeh and Bourj 12p, Shabab Al-Ghazieh 6p.
Round 5 (3-5 February 2023)
Ansar – Shabab Sahel
Al Ahed – Shabab Al Ghazieh
Nejmeh – Bourj
Play-out
Round 4 (27 January 2023)
Safa – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley 1-0
Salam Zgharta – Tadamon Sour 0-2
Hikma / Sagesse – AC Tripoli 0-0
Table
|
7 |
Tadamon Sour |
4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
19-18 |
14 |
|
|
8 |
AC Tripoli |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
10-25 |
13 |
(+) |
|
9 |
Safa |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
12-19 |
11 |
|
|
10 |
Hikma / Sagesse |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
12-18 |
11 |
(+) |
|
11 |
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
12-30 |
7 |
(+) |
|
12 |
Salam Zgharta |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
8-21 |
4 |
(+) |
(+) Points have been rounded up.
If two or more teams have the same number of points, the teams that had their points rounded up will be classified below those which had their points halved neatly, as the main ranking criterion, followed by the head-to-head results, the goal difference, and the number of goals scored.
Initial classification before the start of the play-out: Safa and Tadamon Sour 5p, Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley, Salam Zgharta and Hikma / Sagesse 4p, AC Tripoli 3p.
Round 5 (4 February 2023)
AC Tripoli – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley
Tadamon Sour – Safa
Hikma / Sagesse – Salam Zgharta
