Bourj FC - Al Ahed 1-5 (1-3)
Khaled Takaji 45'+1' (penalty) - Lee Erwin 9', 17', Walid Shour 14', Mohamad Haidar 49' (penalty), Issah Yakubu 89'.
Saturday, 21 January 2023, 4 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon, 3rd round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.
Bourj FC starting line-up. Photo source: the-lfa.com
Al Ahed starting line-up. Photo source: the-lfa.com
Al Ahed were clear favorites before the game, but nobody expected such an utter defeat for Bourj FC. Al Ahed led 3-0 before Bourj FC players woke up in the middle of a nightmare. The match was decided in the first 20 minutes, in which any shot on target became a goal, no matter what. It all started with a long range shot by Lee Erwin, which hit the arm of Khodor Hallak at the edge of the box (8'). The referee awarded a free kick, which was taken by the same Lee Erwin, who sent the ball through the careless wall, into the side post and then in: 0-1 (9').
Goalkeeper Hassan Moghnieh watched helplessly as the ball kicked the post before going in for the first Al Ahed goal. Photo source: elmaestrosport.com
A few minutes later, after a corner, the cross from the right side looked for Lee Erwin to the far post, he headed the ball back right on the goal line, and Walid Shour only needed to head it in before Richard Baffour was able to block: 0-2 (14').
Lee Erwin (left) and Walid Shour (right) celebrate the second goal of the match. Photo source: the-lfa.com
Another free kick, this time from a larger distance and a bit to the left, was taken by Lee Erwin, and was deflected by Khodor Hallak (in the wall), misleading the unfortunate Bourj goalkeeper: 0-3 (17').
After such a disastrous start, Bourj manager decided to make changes, sending in Youssef Anbar and Khaled Takaji (21'), but it was anyway too late. Bourj balanced the game, in the context in which Al Ahed were very content with the result and pressed no further.
The consolation goal for Bourj came at the end of the first half. A free kick executed by Khaled Takaji from the edge of the box hit the hands of one of the defenders in the wall, and the referee awarded a penalty for Bourj. Khaled Takaji missed, but the penalty had to be repeated because the goalkeeper (who saved) had moved forward from the goal line before the penalty was taken. Khaled Takaji did not miss the second time: 1-3 (45'+1').
This goal right before half time gave a slim hope to Bourj FC that they may come back into the game in the second half. These illusions vanished rapidly, as Al Ahed were awarded a penalty for a foul inside the box right at the beginning of the second half. Mohamad Haidar converted to make it 1-4 (48').
Mohamad Haidar and his teammates celebrate the fourth Al Ahed goal. Photo source: the-lfa.com
This goal did not stop Bourj FC from playing more offensively in the second half, in search for another goal. Nevertheless, they did not succeed to get one, despite some good chances, missed mainly by Mohamad Sadek, who struggled a lot in the attack and on the wings.
The goal came eventually, but once again for Al Ahed, on a very fast break, led by Mahmoud Siblini on the left, who crossed perfectly for Issah Yakubu to finish from short range to the near post: 1-5 (89').
Al Ahed players celebrated a much needed win. Photo source: the-lfa.com
Bourj FC: Hassan Moghnieh - Mohamad El Dor (Youssef Anbar 21'), Khodor Hallak (Khaled Takaji 21'), Richard Baffour, Shadi Skaf, Mohamad Hammoud (Saad Shawiki 35') - Ali Chaito (Mohamad Sibaii "Wartan" 60'), Mohamad El Faour - Mohamad Sadek, Ali Merkabaoui (Mohamad Saleh 60'), Dennis Tetteh. Manager: Osama Al Sakr.
Al Ahed: Mahdi Khalil - Hussein Zein (Andrew Sawaya 71'), Georges Melki, Khalil Khamis, Hussein Dakik - Walid Shour (Issah Yakubu 46'), Mohamad Haidar (Bilal Al Sabbagh 63'), Hassan Srour - Ali Al Hajj, Lee Erwin (Mahmoud Siblini 80'), Mohamad Kdouh (Mohamad Nasser 63'). Manager: Raafat Mohammad.
Referee: Mohamad Haddad.
Yellow cards: Ali Merkabaoui 45'+3', Youssef Anbar 57' - Hussein Zein 42', Georges Melki 44'.
This very harsh defeat was not taken lightly by Bourj FC management. Not long after the match finished, it was announced that Osama Al Sakr is no longer Bourj FC manager. He is replaced by his assistant manager, Hussein Tahan, who now becomes full manager, at least for the remaining 7 games in the championship play-off and some Lebanese Cup games, which will be played in the 2022-2023 season.
Hussein Tahan, the new Bourj FC manager. Photo source: Bourj FC Facebook page
His first game as a manager will be the easiest possible one in the championship play-off, against Shabab Al-Ghazieh, bottom of the play-off table. The match will be played at Ansar Stadium (where Shabab Al-Ghazieh play their home matches this season) on Saturday, 28 January, probably at 2:30 pm local time. Bourj FC need a good result to gain back confidence after a run of several winless matches and two consecutive defeats at the hands of Ansar and Al Ahed. However, the same is true for Shabab Al-Ghazieh, who think of their game against Bourj as their biggest chance to get some point(s) in the play-off.
Al Ahed, on the other hand, are chasing the leaders Ansar, whose draw against Nejmeh in the big Lebanese derby is primarily an advantage for Al Ahed. The next week game between the two, Ansar and Al Ahed, may be decisive for the title this year.
Full results, tables and fixtures:
Play-off
Round 3 (21-22 January 2023)
Bourj – Al Ahed 1-5
Shabab Sahel – Shabab Al-Ghazieh 2-1
Ansar – Nejmeh 1-1
Table
|
1 |
Ansar |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
35-8 |
21 |
(+) |
|
2 |
Al Ahed |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
27-10 |
19 |
|
|
3 |
Shabab Sahel |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
21-9 |
17 |
(+) |
|
4 |
Nejmeh |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
20-8 |
17 |
(+) |
|
5 |
Bourj |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
19-19 |
13 |
(+) |
|
6 |
Shabab Al-Ghazieh |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
13-23 |
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 4 (28-29 January 2023)
Shabab Al-Ghazieh – Bourj
Nejmeh – Shabab Sahel
Al Ahed – Ansar
Play-out
Round 3 (21-22 January 2023)
Salam Zgharta – Safa 0-1
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – Hikma / Sagesse 0-1
AC Tripoli – Tadamon Sour 3-2
Table
|
7 |
AC Tripoli |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
10-25 |
12 |
(+) |
|
8 |
Tadamon Sour |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
17-18 |
11 |
|
|
9 |
Hikma / Sagesse |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
12-18 |
10 |
(+) |
|
10 |
Safa |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
10-17 |
8 |
|
|
11 |
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
12-29 |
7 |
(+) |
|
12 |
Salam Zgharta |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
8-19 |
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 4 (27 January 2023)
Safa – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley
Salam Zgharta – Tadamon Sour
Hikma / Sagesse – AC Tripoli
No comments:
Post a Comment