Bourj FC - Shabab Sahel 1-2 (0-0)
Andrew Ikefe 88' (own goal) - Ali Al-Fadl 54', Bobby Clement 72'.
Saturday, 11 March 2023, 2:15 pm local time (12:15 pm UTC), Amin Abdelnour Stadium, Bhamdoun, Aley, Lebanon, the 10th (last) round of the championship play-off, Lebanese Premier League.
Bourj FC starting XI. Photo source: Shabab Al Sahel Facebook page
Bourj FC finished the 2022-2023 league season with a disappointing defeat in front of their biggest rival, Shabab Sahel. Even worse, they also lost the fourth spot precisely to Shabab Sahel, so the two teams switched places in the table, so Bourj FC finished fifth. Bourj FC only needed a draw to maintain their position in the table, and perhaps this was the problem after all, because they applied a rather defensive strategy, while Shabab Sahel played to win and indeed they won deservedly.
Three Bourj players are trying to stop one Shabab Sahel forward. Photo source: Shabab Al Sahel Facebook page
In the forst half, Bourj FC strategy seemed to work, as no goals were scored, and the match was quite balanced in the midfield. Nevertheless, Shabab Sahel had some great chances to take the lead. Zein Farran's shot hit the crossbar (20') and Ali Al Fadl was denied twice consecutively by goalkeeper Abdelkarim Saleh (28').
Shabab Sahel (Bobby Clement with the ball in this photo) had the biggest goal opportunities in the first half. Photo source: Shabab Al Sahel Facebook page
In the second half, Bourj FC were not so lucky anymore and Shabab Sahel took the lead quite early. Ali Al Fadl recovered a ball in the opposite half, went towards the box unmarked, and took his chance by shooting from about 20 metres, to the right of Abdelkarim Saleh: 0-1 (54').
Ali Al Fadl is congratulated by his teammates for the first goal of the match. Photo source: Shabab Al Sahel Facebook page
Bourj FC tried to come back into the game, and started to play more offensively, as they had nothing to lose. However, their actions were not dangerous, and the lack of a real central forward was pretty obvious. The substitutions brought nothing new.
Shabab Sahel remained dangerous on the breaks, and in one of these occasions, they increased their lead. Zein Farran had a beautiful action on the left side, using his well-known pace, Bobby Clement anticipated the play very correctly, intercepted the ball inside the box, and scored with a precise short-range shot to the near post: 0-2 (72').
Bobby Clement squeezed the ball in between Shadi Skaf (left) and goalkeeper Abdelkarim Saleh to score the second goal for Shabab Sahel. Photo source: Shabab Al Sahel Facebook page
In the remaining minutes, Bourj continued to attack, hoping for a goal, but they did not have important opportunities. To make things worse, two Bourj players, Mohamad El Faour and Ali Chaito knocked each other head on (76') and got severely injured. The play was stopped for 7 minutes and the ambulance had to come on the field for Ali Chaito, who was the worst injured. Mohamad El Faour continued the game as there were no other substitutions possible for Bourj FC.
When it looked like nothing could ever happen, a cross from the right side by Youssef Anbar was deflected unluckily by Andrew Ikefe into hs own goal: 1-2 (88').
Bourj FC attacked with renewed energy in the final minutes and in stoppage time, to no avail.
Bourj: Abdelkarim Saleh - Mohamad El Dor (Youssef Anbar 62'), Richard Baffour, Shadi Skaf, Mohamad Hammoud - Mohamad El Faour, Mohamad Sibaii "Wartan" (Mohamad Nassereldine 62') - Ali Merkabaoui (Mohamad Sadek 55'), Khaled Takaji (Ali Chaito 62', Hussein Ibrahim 82'), Dennis Tetteh - Hussein Al Outa. Manager: Hussein Tahan.
Shabab Sahel: Ibrahim Mikdad - Ali Abboud, Andrew Ikefe, Hussein Awada (Hamza Kheir 90'+9'), Ali Fahes, Mustafa Kassab, Emmanuel Nettey, Mohamad Haidar, Ali Al Fadl (Sultan Haidar 90'), Mohamad Zein Farran (Hussein Khalifa 90'), Bobby Clement (Fadel Antar 90'). Manager: Dragan Jovanović.
Referee: Wael Haidar.
Yellow card: Youssef Anbar (89').
The league season is over, but the season itself is not yet over, as both teams will play matches in the Lebanese FA Cup on Friday, 17 March. Shabab Sahel will face newly-promoted Al Ahly Nabatieh, while Bourj FC will play against Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley, which have just been relegated to the Second Division.
Moreover, Bourj FC are preparing their double encounter with United Arab Emirates team Al Wahda in the first qualifying round of the Arab Club Champions Cup (King Salman Club Cup). The Emirati team is a regular competitor in the AFC Champions League and will play both matches at home, at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, on 4 April (1st leg, when Bourj FC are oficially the hosts) and on 8 April 2023 (the 2nd leg).
Bourj FC have already received some help from other Lebanese clubs. Both Al Ahed and Ansar loaned three of their best players to Bourj FC for these games. Two goalkeepers were also brought in, one from Salam Zgharta, and the other one from Tadamon Sour.
The winner on aggregate of these matches will face the winner of the encounter between AS FAR Rabat (Morocco) and Al Ittihad Tripoli (Libya) in the second qualifying round. The first leg has already been played, and AS FAR Rabat won 4-1 at home, so they are most likely the next opponent for either Al Wahda or Bourj FC. The fact that both matches are played in the United Arab Emirates is a clear disadvantage for Bourj FC, and Al Wahda are favourites.
The 2022-2023 Lebanese Premier League ended, but not without incidents. The decisive match for the title, between Ansar and Al Ahed, was very tense. Al Ahed only needed a draw to retain their title, and had the lead several times, 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but Ansar equalized almost every time. In stoppage time, with Al Ahed leading 3-2, the play was suspended because some Ansar fans caused a series of troubles in the stands, and chairs were thrown into the field of play. The play was not resumed. In the following days, the Lebanese FA awarded the match 3-0 to Al Ahed, which are therefore the new (and old) Lebanese champions.
Relegation was also decided in the last round. Hikma / Sagesse won over Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley, while Safa eventually drew with Salam Zgharta, after Salam Zgharta had taken the lead. Threfore, both Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley and Salam Zgharta were relegated to the Second Division for the 2023-2024 season. They will be replaced by Racing Beirut (winners of the 2022-2023 Second Division) and Al Ahly Nabatieh for the 2023-2024 season of the Lebanese Premier League.
Full results and tables:
Play-off
Round 10 (11-12 March 2023)
Bourj – Shabab Sahel 1-2
Nejmeh – Shabab Al-Ghazieh 2-1
Ansar – Al Ahed 0-3 (awarded, play suspended in stoppage time at 2-3)
Table
|
1 |
Al Ahed (C) |
10 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
39-11 |
36 |
Qualified to the AFC Champions League |
|
2 |
Nejmeh |
10 |
6 |
4 |
0 |
34-14 |
34 |
(+) Qualified to the AFC Cup |
|
3 |
Ansar |
10 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
45-16 |
32 |
(+) |
|
4 |
Shabab Sahel |
10 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
28-23 |
23 |
(+) |
|
5 |
Bourj |
10 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
25-26 |
21 |
(+) |
|
6 |
Shabab Al-Ghazieh |
10 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
16-39 |
6 |
|
(C) - Champions
(+) 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.
Play-out
Round 10 (10 March 2023)
Tadamon Sour – AC Tripoli 2-2
Safa – Salam Zgharta 1-1
Hikma / Sagesse – Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley 2-1
Table
|
7 |
Tadamon Sour |
10 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
30-24 |
25 |
|
|
8 |
AC Tripoli |
10 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
19-35 |
21 |
(+) |
|
9 |
Hikma / Sagesse |
10 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
18-26 |
18 |
(+) |
|
10 |
Safa |
10 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
18-30 |
15 |
|
|
11 |
Salam Zgharta (R) |
10 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
15-26 |
15 |
(+) Relegated |
|
12 |
Al Akhaa Al Ahly Aley (R) |
10 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
20-37 |
13 |
(+) Relegated |
(R) - Relegated
(+) 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.
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