The title dream is still alive after the eighth win in a row for Bourj FC

Tadamon Sour - Bourj FC 0-1 (0-0)

Mohamad Sadek 90'+5' penalty.

Saturday, 19 March 2022, 2:15 pm local time (12:15 pm UTC), Sour Municipal Stadium, Tyre (Sour), Lebanon, the 3rd round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.

Bourj FC starting line-up against Tadamon Sour. Source: Tadamon Sour Facebook page

The title dream is still alive for Bourj FC with several rounds to go. Who would have believed that? The second place is in itself the best ever league performance for Bourj FC throughout their history. Is it possible for them to get even more? The last rounds will provide the answer, but, however slim, the chances are still there!

Mohamed Santina, Tadamon's goalkeeper, had many excellent saves throughout the match. Source: Tadamon Sour Facebook page

The match against Tadamon Sour was not at all easy, and the win came in the very last minute of stoppage time. There was quite a large amount of luck needed for such an ending for a game which seemed that could go either way, taking into account the chances that both teams had.

Source: Tadamon Sour Facebook page

Tadamon started the match offensively, and had two dangerous shots in the first ten minutes, both saved by Hassan Moghnieh. Gradually, Bourj FC took over the control of the game and attacked constantly. Abou Baker Al Mel had a great long range shot from a free kick more than 40 meters away, almost surprising Mohamed Santina, who had to do his best to save (21').

Mohamed Santina saved Abou Baker Al Mel's shot (21'). Source: Tadamon Sour Facebook page

Several other shots followed, including one from the same Abou Baker Al Mel (31'), but Mohamed Santina had no problems in saving everything.

In the second half, Bourj FC intensified their attacks, but left more empty spaces in the defense, and Tadamon Sour had some excellent opportunities to break the deadlock. A series of mistakes in the visitors' defense led to Tadamon's greatest chance, in fact two consecutive chances: a first shot, one on one with the goalkeeper, saved by Hassan Moghnieh; and then a second shot, from a different Tadamon player, which hit the crossbar (53'). Bourj FC manager, Fouad Hijazi, made several changes, but the next big opportunity was also for Tadamon, as Hassan Moghnieh stopped Adnan Melhem right in front of the goal (66').

Goalkeeper Hassan Moghnieh (in black) made several great saves keeping a clean sheet for Bourj FC. Source: Tadamon Sour Facebook page

The final minutes belonged entirely to Bourj FC. They pressed continuously, but succeeded little, despite having many set pieces (free kicks, corner kicks) which could have led to a goal. But Tadamon defense resisted heroically almost to the end.

There were harsh battles inside Tadamon's box in the last minutes of the game, but eventually Mohamad Sadek (#8, center-right) transformed a penalty to give Bourj FC another win. Source: Tadamon Sour Facebook page

The decisive action took place in the third minute of stoppage time. Abbas Ali Atwi "Onika" found a magic pass over Tadamon defenders, launching both Mohamad Sadek and Akram Moghrabi in the box. Mohamad Sadek was better placed, but wrongly thought he was offside, so he left Akram Moghrabi (who came from behind) to control the ball. However, Akram Moghrabi was tackled by Abbas Cherkawi, who succeeded to send the ball out in the corner, but the referee decided that he made a foul and awarded a penalty (90'+3'). Tadamon players protested but the decision stood. Of all Bourj FC players, it was young Mohamad Sadek who took the responsibility to execute the penalty, and scored: 0-1 (90'+5').

What happened in the end is unclear. The referee probably whistled the end of the match while Bourj FC players celebrated and some spectators invaded the pitch, most likely to seek revenge on the referee. The YouTube transmission ended abruptly, and so did the match. However, the final score was confirmed as 0-1.

Tadamon Sour: Mohamad Santina - Abbas Cherkawi, Ali Abdallah Bitar, Hussein Mhaydle, Mohamad Dbouk (Bilal Hajo 63'), Wael Youssef, Rabah Mazbouh (Hassan Cherkawi 88'), Jawad Kawtharani, Alaa El Baba (Salim Hamadeh 70'), Hassan Hawila (Karim Mansour 59'), Adnan Melhem. Manager: Mohamad Zouheir.

Bourj: Hassan Moghnieh - Youssef Anbar, Khodor Hallak, Hassan Bitar, Shadi Skaf - Mohamad Kassem (Hussein Ibrahim 56'), Mohamad Al Faour - Abou Baker Al Mel (Ali Merkabaoui 90'), Abbas Ali Atwi "Onika", Hussein Al Outa (Mohamad Sadek 56') - Bersyl Obassi (Akram Moghrabi 56'). Manager: Fouad Hijazi.

Referee: Samer Al-Sayed Kassem.

Realistically, the title chances for Bourj FC are slim, because they have two tough matches ahead, against two of the best teams in Lebanon, Ansar and Al Ahed, and they need to win both matches. Moreover, they need a miracle to happen in the match between Al Ahed and Shabab Sahel. Is it possible for Bourj FC archrivals, Shabab Al Sahel, to lend a helping hand? Is it possible for Al Ahed to lose or draw in such a decisive match for them to win the title, while Shabab Sahel would only fight for the third place?

All these questions will be answered two weeks from now, because the Lebanese Premier League will take a break, like most leagues, to make room for the matches of the national teams.

Full results, tables and fixtures:

Play-off

Round 3 (18-19 March 2022)

 

Al Ahed – Ansar 0-0

Tadamon Sour – Bourj 0-1

Shabab Sahel – Shabab El Bourj 4-1

 

Table

 

1	Al Ahed	14	11	3	0	25-3	36
2	Bourj	14	9	5	0	19-6	32
3	Shabab Sahel	14	7	2	5	24-22	23
4	Ansar	14	6	4	4	24-11	22
5	Tadamon Sour	14	3	5	6	12-14	14
6	Shabab El Bourj	14	4	2	8	16-25	14

 

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of head-to-head matches between them are the main ranking criteria.

 

Round 4 (2-3 April 2022)

 

Tadamon Sour – Shabab El Bourj

Ansar – Bourj

Al Ahed – Shabab Sahel

 

Round 5 (8-9 April 2022)

 

Shabab Sahel – Tadamon Sour

Ansar – Shabab El Bourj

Ahed – Bourj

 

Play-out

Round 3 (19-20 March 2022)

 

Nejmeh – AC Sporting 1-1

Safa – AC Tripoli

Hikma / Sagesse – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley

 

Table

 

7	AC Tripoli	13	6	2	5	16-16	20
8	Nejmeh	14	6	6	2	19-9	18	[1]
9	Hikma / Sagesse	13	3	2	8	7-25	11
10	AC Sporting	14	3	2	9	11-20	11
11	Safa	13	2	4	7	5-18	10
12	Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley	13	2	3	8	8-17	9

 

If two or more teams have the same number of points, the results of head-to-head matches between them are the main ranking criteria.

 

Round 4 (2-3 April 2022)

 

AC Tripoli – Hikma / Sagesse

AC Sporting – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley

Nejmeh – Safa

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[1] Nejmeh were deducted 6 points for not attending the game against Al Ahed in round 10.