Bourj - Safa 0-0
Monday, 24 June 2024, 5 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Amin Abdelnour Stadium, Bhamdoun (Aley), Lebanon, the 15th (last) round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.
Bourj starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page
Safa starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page
Bourj and Safa played their last league match on Monday, 24 June, and the only thing that was really at stake seemed to be the fourth place in the final play-off table. Bourj needed a win to climb in fourth position, while Safa could retain their place with a draw.
The game was played in extremely hot conditions, which clearly affected the players' capabilities, and eventually the two teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw, as neither of them was able to score.
Mohamad Zein Tahan (Bourj) is challenged by Mohamad Nasser (Safa), while Bilal Sabbagh (#8) and Ali Kassas are watching. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page
Given the situation, Bourj were more interested in attacking and winning the game. Although Bourj remained without several important players, they were still able to have a competing line-up and to challenge Safa for the fourth place. They had several good opportunities throughout the match, and perhaps the biggest one was missed by Ali Chaito, whose shot was miraculously saved by Hadi Mortada (59').
Ali Chaito (Bourj, with the ball) is about to be tackled by Mahdi Fahs (Safa). Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page
The number of chances increased towards the end of the match, when both managers refreshed their teams with a number of substitutions. For Safa, Ahmad Hijazi proved very dangerous, missing several opportunities. Bourj also claimed a red card for a possible foul on Ali Merkabawi, who would have escaped all alone with the goalkeeper (80'), but after five minutes of reviews by VAR and the referee, it was decided that nothing wrong happened.
The match became more intense towards the end. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page
Eventually, the final score remained 0-0 and it looked like Safa finished fourth and Bourj fifth.
Bourj: Hassan Hazimeh - Mohamad El Dor, Saad Chweiki, Khodor Hallak, Mohamad Zein Tahan - Bilal Sabbagh (Ali El Haddad 82'), Mohamad El Faour (Ibrahim Hammoudi 82'), Hassan Chaito "Moni" (Ali Siblini 66') - Ali Chaito (Mohamad El Sibaii "Wartan" 66'), Ali Kassas, Ali Markabawi (Ali Ibrahim 90'). Manager: Ahmed Atwi.
Safa: Hadi Mortada - Sajed Amhaz, Hussein Sharafeddine, Andrew Sawaya (Ahmad Hijazi 69'), Hamza Kheir, Mahdi Fahs (Habib Shweikh 59'), Ali Kharoubi (Ghazi Honeine 59'), Arnold Suew (Hassan Chaito "Shibriko" 59'), Sebastian Jakubiak, Mohamad Nasser, Mohamad Kdouh. Manager: Bassem Marmar.
Referee: Kazem El Khansa.
Yellow cards: Saad Chweiki 53', Bilal Sabbagh 71', Ibrahim Hammoudi 87' - Hussein Sharafeddine 43', Ghazi Honeine 88'.
The surprise came a week after the game was played. The Lebanese FA decided to deduct three points from Safa because they did not comply with the regulations concerning the use of young players (under 21 years of age) throughout the season, namely the prescribed minimum of 700 minutes to be played by such a footballer has not been achieved. As a result, Bourj climbed to the fourth place at the end of the season, which is their third best position in history, after the third place achieved in 1995-1996 and 2021-2022. Safa finished fifth, which one believes to be a disappointment, provided that they were in fourth place for most of the play-off. However, they are now in summer holidays, and seem to be very interested in the next season, with lots of players signed in already.
On the other hand, Bourj still have to play the Lebanese Cup semifinal against Ansar, on Friday, 5 July 2024. The cup have just turned into a consolation competition, and Bourj will have a very difficult and tough match against Ansar, who have just missed the title in the decisive match against Nejmeh.
Nejmeh are the new (2023-2024) champions of Lebanon, after winning 2-1 over Ansar in the last match of the season, on Sunday, 30 June. The winning goal was scored by Kassem El Zein in the sixth minute of stoppage time, giving Nejmeh their ninth title in history, and the first in ten years. Their last title was in 2013-2014. Ansar only needed a draw to become champions and their disappointment and frustration is probably very high. It is hard to tell whether this might be good or bad for Bourj in view of their upcoming cup match.
Besides their cup match, Bourj FC are also looking for a new president (owner) to take over from Fadi Nasser, who announced that he would not continue in this position. Let's hope that this will not be a turn for the worse, after several years in which the club competed very well and achieved some of their best league results in history.
Full results and final table:
Round 15 (24-30 June 2024)
Racing – Al Ahed 1-4
Bourj – Safa 0-0
Nejmeh – Ansar 2-1
Final table
|
1 |
Nejmeh (C) |
15 |
10 |
2 |
3 |
44-20 |
46 |
|
|
2 |
Ansar |
15 |
11 |
2 |
2 |
55-24 |
45 |
|
|
3 |
Al Ahed |
15 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
54-22 |
36 |
|
|
4 |
Bourj |
15 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
26-32 |
25 |
(+) |
|
5 |
Safa |
15 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
35-38 |
23 |
* (+) |
|
6 |
Racing |
15 |
0 |
4 |
11 |
29-50 |
12 |
(+) |
(C) – Champions
* Safa were deducted 3 points for not complying with the regulations regarding the minimal number of minutes to be played by footballers under 21 years of age.
(+) Points have been rounded up.
