Sunday, the 8th of November 2020, 2.15 pm local time (12.15 pm UTC), Municipal Stadium, Tripoli, Lebanon, the 6th round of the Lebanese Premier League.
It is hard to say whether one may call football whatever AC Tripoli and Bourj FC played on Sunday afternoon. There were many football matches throughout history where no goals were scored, but this was one of the least interesting of them all. The two teams were really preoccupied mainly with the defence and could not care less about what was going on in the attack: actually nothing happened. There were perhaps a couple of ”sort of” opportunities, especially from the side of Bourj FC, which tried harder and pressed more, especially in the second half, but seemed unable to find any suitable way towards the goal. A cross from the right side which miraculously reached the striker Fadel Antar, whose shot went wide (80'), was actually the biggest goal chance in the entire game, and this happened towards the end of the game. AC Tripoli deliberately created a very dense defensive wall and fragmented the game as much as they could, and still had a run or two on the counterattack and a couple of set pieces that could have been dangerous, but weren't.
Tripoli: Mustafa Matar - Mohammad Sadeq, Khaled Al Jassem, Ahmad Yassine, Ahmad Moghrabi, Bilal Matar, Mohamad Arja (Mohammad Omar Sadeq 66'), Ghazi Hussein, Hassan Kraytem, Alaa Ezzo (Said Al Ali 78'), Samir Abdel Rahman (Ali Al Rachid 66'). Manager: Salim Mikati.
Bourj: Abd El Karim Saleh - Hamza Abboud, Khodor Hallak, Hussein Ibrahim, Walid Ismail - Mohammad Al Faour, Hassan Annan - Abou Baker Al Mel, Ibrahim Abou Hamdan (Mohammad Jaafar 60'), Hussein Al Outa - Fadel Antar (Zein Al Abidin Farran 85'). Manager: Fouad Hijazi.
Referee: Sheikh Ahmed Alaa El-Din.
Yellow cards: Mohammad Sadeq 66', Khaled Al Jassem 70', Mustafa Matar 80' (all Tripoli).
I would have expected more from Bourj FC. Despite playing away, they were normally considered favourites and they needed more the points than their opponents. Even more, this was the first game for Fouad Hijazi as manager of Bourj FC. When one changes the manager, the shock would determine a change of attitude, which is expected from the players, usually resulting in better games and better results. It was not the case: Bourj FC played as badly as before, perhaps even worse. Their luck was that AC Tripoli did not try too much to attack. Otherwise, the defence was destabilized in the absence of Ahmad Al Khatib, who was sent off in the previous game and was suspended for this one. Hussein Ibrahim, normally a defensive midfielder, had to assume the centre back role, and he did a good job.
There were some changes in the starting line-up, the bad point is that they meant nothing. Hassan Annan and Abou Baker Al Mel reappeared in the starting XI, Fadel Antar was for the first time in the field from the first minute of the game, and Ibrahim Abou Hamdan enjoyed his second start in a game this season. Mohamaad Jaafar and Mohammad Nasser did not start, as usual, the former coming in as a sub with 30 minutes to play, while the latter did not play at all. The biggest absence was playmaker Mohammad Kassem, one of the few players who know how to open up a defence. He is probably still injured.
The next game will be in two weeks, because of the break provided for national teams. On Saturday, the 21st of November, Bourj FC will play the local derby against Shabab El Bourj at Jounieh Stadium. It is also a decisive match for the qualification to the play-offs, as the two teams are separated by two points.
Full results, table and fixtures:
Round 6 (6-8 November 2020)
Ansar – Safa 6-1
Shabab El Bourj – Ahed 1-1
Shabab Al-Ghazieh – Shabab Sahel 0-2
Nejmeh – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley 1-1
Salam Zgharta – Tadamon Sour 0-2
AC Tripoli – Bourj 0-0
Table
|
1 |
Ansar |
6 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
15-3 |
15 |
AFC Champions League |
|
2 |
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
7-2 |
14 |
AFC Cup |
|
3 |
Shabab Sahel |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
6-1 |
14 |
|
|
4 |
Nejmeh |
6 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
12-3 |
12 |
|
|
5 |
Shabab El Bourj |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
9-6 |
8 |
|
|
6 |
Al Ahed |
6 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6-7 |
8 |
|
|
7 |
AC Tripoli |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4-7 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
Safa |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
8-13 |
7 |
|
|
9 |
Bourj |
6 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
8-8 |
6 |
|
|
10 |
Tadamon Sour |
6 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2-5 |
4 |
|
|
11 |
Shabab Al-Ghazieh |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
2-11 |
3 |
Relegation to the Second Division |
|
12 |
Salam Zgharta |
6 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
2-15 |
1 |
Relegation to the Second Division |
If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of direct matches between them are the main ranking criteria.
Round 7 (21-22 November 2020)
Ansar – Salam Zgharta
Shabab El Bourj – Bourj
Shabab Al-Ghazieh – Safa
Al Ahed – Shabab Sahel
Nejmeh – Tadamon Sour
AC Tripoli – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley
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