Nejmeh - Bourj 0-0
Saturday, 1 July 2023, 5 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Amin Abdelnour Stadium, Bhamdoun (Aley), Lebanon, first round of the Federation Cup, Group D.
Bourj starting line-up. Photo source: Bourj FC Facebook page
Nejmeh starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page
This year, the Lebanese Football Association decided to replace the former Elite and Challenge cups with a single competition, involving all the 12 teams of the Lebanese Premier League, called the Federation Cup. The 12 teams were distributed into four groups of 3 teams, and the winners of each group qualify for the semifinals.
Group D seems to be the toughest one, as it includes three powerful clubs, Nejmeh, Bourj and Safa.
In the first match of the group, Nejmeh and Bourj drew 0-0 after a rather boring game, with few goalscoring situations. Nejmeh missed no less than 7 players who were called up for either the senior national team or the olympic national team of Lebanon, while Bourj also missed a couple of players for the same reason. It was a good opportunity for the other players to make themselves noticed to the managers and the public.
However, both teams transferred many players recently and the level of homogeneity is still low, and, on the other hand, the preparations for the 2023-2024 season have just begun.
Bourj FC (with Youssef Anbar #77 in the foreground) had more opportunities. Photo source: Bourj FC Facebook page
While Nejmeh enjoyed certain periods of domination in the midfield and in terms of ball possession, Bourj FC had the biggest opportunities to score a goal, especially in the second half. Houssem Louati created a few chances, and the best of them came in the 72nd minute, when he entered a box and passed to Mohamad Zein Tahan to his left, but Tahan's shot was blocked.
Unfortunately, except for Houssem Louati, the other Bourj offensive players did not provide much in this game, and the management would have to think about a foreign striker, because Derrick's performance was average at best. The midfield also suffered a lot in front of less experienced Nejmeh players.
The most important event of the game was that Youssef Anbar suffered an injury in the 80th minute and he will undergo yet another surgery, so he will be out for some time once again.
Bourj starting line-up: Ali Halal - Mohamad El Dor, Khodor Hallak, Shadi Skaf, Youssef Anbar - Mohamad El Faour, Mohamad Sibaii "Wartan" - Mohamad Saleh, Bilal Al Sabbagh, Houssem Louati - Derrick. Seeveral players were introduced in the second half, such as: Abou Baker Al Mel, Mohamed Zein Tahan, Hassan Chaito "Moni", Ibrahim Hammoudi. Manager: Hussein Tahan.
The second match of the group, Nejmeh - Safa, will be played today, while the last match of the group, Bourj - Safa, will be played next Wednesday, 12 July 2023.
During the transfer period (which is not yet over), Bourj FC performed a series of transfers, meant to improve the squad for the 2023-2024. The following players have been brought so far: goalkeeper Ali Halal (from Nejmeh), centre back Mohamad Al Husseini (from Al Ahed), wing back Mohamad Zein Tahan (from Safa), winger Abou Baker Al Mel (returning after a loan spell to Hikma / La Sagesse), central midfielder Bilal Al Sabbagh (from Al Ahed), Tunisian offensive midfielder Houssem Louati (from Ansar), forward Ali Kassas (from Nejmeh), Syrian centre back Ahmed Al Saleh (from Al Jaish, Syria), and midfielder Hassan Chaito "Moni" (from Nejmeh). Only two of them are foreigners, Houssem Louati and Ahmed Al Saleh, and there is place for two more foreigners in the squad, as the Lebanese FA allow four foreigners beginning with the 2023-2024 season. One of them might be the striker from Guinea, Derrick, whose performance so far was not convincing, but he still has a chance to prove his qualities. An Egyptian player was also training with the team, but he will most likely not be part of the squad for the next season. Several players from the youth team have been also promoted to the senior team.
All these players are also meant to replace those (14) who have left Bourj FC during the transfer period. Among those who left are the following players: goalkeepers Hassan Moghnieh (to Shabab Al Ghazieh) and Afif Zreik, centre back Richard Baffour (to Shabab Sahel), left back Mohammad Hammoud, midfielders Mohamad Safwan and Mohamad Omar Sadek (both to Nejmeh), playmakers Khaled Takaji and Youssef Barakat, wingers Hussein Al Outa and Mahmoud Kawar, forwards Ali Hammoud and Mohamad Nassereddine, as well as foreign strikers Dennis Tetteh and Stephen Sarfo. Some of these players, especially Richard Baffour, Mohamad Sadek, Khaled Takaji, and Dennis Tetteh have been instrumental for Bourj FC in the previous season and it will be difficult to find players of similar value. One or two foreign strikers are very much needed, and perhaps a creative midfielder, a "number 10" to replace Khaled Takaji.
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