Bourj FC - Ansar 0-2 (0-0)
El Hadji Malick Tall 70', 89'.
Saturday, 14 January 2023, 4 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon, 2nd round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.
Bourj FC starting line-up. Photo source:the-lfa.com
Ansar starting line-up. Photo source:the-lfa.com
Bourj FC had a difficult mission on Saturday, to stop Ansar, in a match played (once again) at Fouad Chehab Stadium in Jounieh in unusually cold and rainy weather. Bourj FC missed two of their key attacking players, Dennis Tetteh and Stephen Sarfo, and prepared an overly defensive tactics, with no less than three central defenders, and two wing backs.
Bourj FC players Mohamad El Faour (left) and Khaled Takaji (right) surround Yahya El Hindi (Ansar, centre, with the ball). Photo source:the-lfa.com
This defensive tactics paid off well for Bourj FC in the first half and most of the second half. Ansar dominated the game, attacked most of the time, but found no way through to get to the opposite goal. They tried a few long-range shots, which either missed the target or posed no threat to Bourj goalkeeper Hassan Moghnieh.
Bourj FC defended well for most of the match. Photo source:the-lfa.com
Offensively, Bourj FC only tried a few breaks and brought more people in the opposite box whenever they had a set piece. Ansar, on the other hand, became more and more dangerous in the second half, when manager Jamal Taha also made a couple of offensive changes.
This eventually brought the much needed goal for Ansar. Ali Tneich "Al Sisi" found a great vertical pass through the Bourj defence, launching El Hadji Malick Tall straight to the box, and the Senegalese striker sent the ball into the back of the net: 1-0 (70'). Bourj FC players protested for an alleged offside position, but the TV replays showed that Shadi Skaf cancelled the supposed offside position.
El Hadji Malick Tall (in green) scored a brace for Ansar (this is an image of the first goal). Photo source:the-lfa.com
In the remaining 20 minutes (plus stoppage time), Bourj FC changed tactics, and tried to attack in order to equalize and to come back into the game. However, they only succeeded once to create some danger, when Mohamad Sadek's shot was saved from below the crossbar by goalkeeper Hadi Kanj (85').
Mohamad Sadek (in yellow) was once again the most dangerous forward for Bourj FC, but had very few chances. Photo source:the-lfa.com
Even more, given the ever wider spaces left in the Bourj defence, due to their desperate attempts for an equalizer, Ansar took the opportunity to break, and scored the second goal: Abdallah Aich crossed from the left, Khodor Hallak only managed to slightly touch the ball, which came perfectly to the near post for El Hadji Malick Tall's header: 0-2 (89').
Bourj FC: Hassan Moghnieh - Khodor Hallak, Richard Baffour, Shadi Skaf - Mohamad El Dor (Mahmoud Kaawar 85'), Hussein Ibrahim (Mohamad Sibaii "Wartan" 71'), Mohamad El Faour, Mohamad Hammoud (Ali Chaito 80') - Mohamad Sadek, Khaled Takaji (Hussein Al Outa 80'), Ali Merkabaoui (Mohamad Nassereddine 85'). Manager: Osama El Sakr.
Ansar FC: Hadi Kanj - Nassar Nassar, Ichaka Diarra, Maxime Aoun, Abdallah Aich - Ali Tneich "Al Sisi", Houssem Louati, Yahya El Hindi (Nader Matar 56') - Karim Darwich, El Hadji Malick Tall, Mohamad Hebous (Hassan Maatouk 68'). Manager: Jamal Taha.
With this win, Ansar remain on top of the Lebanese League, and even increase their gap to 4 points in front of Al Ahed and Nejmeh. Bourj, on the other hand, remain in fifth place. In the next round, Ansar will face Nejmeh in the Lebanese derby, while Bourj will play against Al Ahed.
Full results, tables and fixtures:
Play-off
Round 2 (13-14 January 2023)
Shabab Sahel – Al Ahed 1-2
Shabab Al-Ghazieh – Nejmeh 0-1
Bourj – Ansar 0-2
Table
|
1 |
Ansar |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
34-7 |
20 |
(+) |
|
2 |
Al Ahed |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
22-9 |
16 |
|
|
3 |
Nejmeh |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
19-7 |
16 |
(+) |
|
4 |
Shabab Sahel |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
19-8 |
14 |
(+) |
|
5 |
Bourj |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
18-14 |
13 |
(+) |
|
6 |
Shabab Al-Ghazieh |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
12-21 |
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 3 (20-21 January 2023)
Bourj – Al Ahed
Shabab Sahel – Shabab Al-Ghazieh
Ansar – Nejmeh
Play-out
Round 2 (15 January 2023)
Hikma / Sagesse – Safa 2-1
AC Tripoli – Salam Zgharta 1-0
Tadamon Sour – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley 2-0
Table
|
7 |
Tadamon Sour |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
15-15 |
11 |
|
|
8 |
AC Tripoli |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
7-23 |
9 |
(+) |
|
9 |
Hikma / Sagesse |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
11-18 |
7 |
(+) |
|
10 |
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
12-28 |
7 |
(+) |
|
11 |
Safa |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
9-17 |
5 |
|
|
12 |
Salam Zgharta |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
8-18 |
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 3 (21 January 2023)
AC Tripoli – Tadamon Sour
Salam Zgharta – Safa
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley – Hikma / Sagesse
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