After almost 30 years, Bourj FC participated in an official international competition, the Arab Club Champions Cup, facing Al Wahda FC of the United Arab Emirates in the first qualifying round. For unknown reasons, both legs had to be played at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the home ground of Al Wahda FC.
In the first game, played on Tuesday, 4 April 2023, Bourj FC were officially ”the hosts”, but lost 3-0 and the difference could have been bigger.
Bourj FC delegation before the start of the first game. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page
All the goals were scored in the first half. Alaa Eddine Zouhir broke the deadlock with a precise header from short range, after a beautiful cross by Rúben Amaral from the right side: 0-1 (16'). Matheus Pereira perfectly executed a free kick from just outside the box to make it 0-2 (29'). Bourj goalkeeper Hadi Mortada saved a shot, but the ball deflected to João Pedro, who only had to tap it in: 0-3 (35').
Bourj FC starting line-up in the first match. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page
In the second half, Bourj FC made several changes, introducing more of their own young talents. Al Wahda continued to dominate the game and they had some great opportunities, including a shot in the side post, but there were no more goals until the end of the game.
Bourj FC: Hadi Mortada - Mohamad El Dor (Zein Tahan 88'), Mohamad El Housseini, Richard Baffour, Shadi Skaf - Emmanuel Obere (Ali Chaito 70'), Mohamad Al Faour (Mohamad Sadek 46') - Dennis Tetteh (Mohamad El Sibaii 74'), Bilal Al Sabbagh (Ali Markabawi 46'), Mansa Konaté - Boucounta Sarr. Manager: Hussein Tahan.
Al Wahda: Mohamed Al Shamsi - Alaa Eddine Zouhir, Lucas Pimenta, Ahmed Rashid (Abdulla Al Karbi 46'), Rúben Amaral - Allan Marques (Daniel Asoma 65'), Adrien Silva (Abdulla Hamad 75') - Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Matheus Perreira (Mahmoud Khamis 82'), Suhail Salem (Ismail Matar 65') - João Pedro. Manager: Arno Buitenweg.
Referee: Ahmed Al Ali (Jordan).
In the second match, on Saturday, 8 April 2023, Bourj FC played much better and even had a couple of chances.
Al Wahda starting line-up in the second match. Source: Al Wahda FC Facebook page
Al Wahda, this time hosts both officially and practically, dominated the entire game and had a ball possession which at some point was above 70%. Bourj FC goalkeeper Antoine Al Douaihy made some fantastic saves, including the one in front of João Pedro, all alone in the box (25'). On the other hand, Mohamad El Dor had a good long distance shot, but Al Shamsi saved as well (32').
In the second half, and especially towards the end, Al Wahda intensified their attacks. A header by João Pedro hit the crossbar (87') and it looked like Bourj FC will get away with an honourable 0-0 draw.
However, the last action of the match brought the winning goal for the Emirates side. After a corner from the left side, the Bourj defenders were unable to clear, and the ball reached Allan Marques, on the edge of the box, whose shot penetrated in between all the legs and into the back of the net: 1-0 (90'+6').
Allan Marques (in grey, facing the camera) celebrates after scoring the winning goal of the second match. Source: Al Wahda FC Facebook page
Al Wahda: Mohamed Al Shamsi - Alaa Eddine Zouhir, Lucas Pimenta, Ahmed Rashid, Rúben Amaral - Allan Marques, Abdulla Hamad (Adrien Silva 66') - Facundo Krupzky, Ismaeil Matar, Suhail Salem (Mahmoud Khamis 88') - João Pedro. Manager: Arno Buitenweg.
Bourj FC: Antoine Al Douaihy - Mohamad El Dor, Mohamad El Housseini, Shadi Skaf, Hussein Dakik - Emmanuel Obere (Hussein Ibrahim 79'), Mansa Konaté - Zein Tahan, Dennis Tetteh (Mohamad El Sibaii 79'), Ali Markabawi (Mohamad Sadek 73') - Boucounta Sarr. Manager: Hussein Tahan.
Referee: Qasim Matar Al Hatmi (Oman).
Al Wahda therefore qualified with an aggregate score of 4-0. Most likely, they will face AS FAR Rabat (Morocco) in the second qualifying round.
Bourj FC players and staff in the airport. Source: Bourj FC Facebook page
For Bourj FC, the season is not yet over, as they are still involved in the Lebanese FA Cup semifinals, where they will face Nejmeh on Sunday, 23 April 2023. It will be interesting to see if some of the players who were on loan to Bourj FC from other Lebanese clubs for these two legs against Al Wahda will still be in the ranks of Bourj FC for the Cup semifinals. Bourj FC only qualified for the Lebanese Cup final in 1993, when they also won the trophy.
No comments:
Post a Comment