Great win for Bourj FC, first defeat for Ansar this season

Ansar - Bourj FC 0-2 (0-0)

Tidiane Camara 69', Houssem Louati 79'

Sunday, 5 November 2023, 3 pm local time (1 pm UTC), Fouad Chehab Stadium, Jounieh, Lebanon, the 8th round of the Lebanese Premier League.

Bourj FC starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

Ansar starting line-up. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

In the last couple of years, Bourj suffered a lot in the matches against Ansar, losing almost all of them, even in occasions when a draw was needed; in 2022, Bourj were defeated in one of the last matches of the play-off round, and lost the second place to Ansar, missing the opportunity to achieve their greatest league performance in their history. In 2022-2023 there was nothing better, but the day finally arrived when Bourj won, and not just that, but they were consistently better than their opponents, and definitely deserved the win.

Ali Kassas (prepared to strike) missed the first opportunity for Bourj FC early in the game. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

Bourj played better throughout the entire game, and that was the real surprise, not the result, because Bourj had defeated Ansar in the past, but using a different tactics, based on strong defense and fast counterattacks. This time, however, Bourj FC had the overall control for most of the game, and missed several clear chances to score in the first half, before taking the lead and then increasing it in the second half. Ansar seemed overwhelmed, unable to respond, with several players out of shape, while their main attacking weapon, Senegalese striker El Hadji Malick Tall, missed all the opportunities he had.

Former Ansar player Houssem Louati (Bourj FC, in yellow and black) took his own revenge on his former club, and was the man of the match. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

From the very beginning, Bourj FC seemed interested in scoring as early as possible, Ali Kassas shooting from the edge of the box, slightly wide (8'). A few minutes later, Tidiane Camara missed the biggest chance of the first half, denied by goalkeeper Nazih Assaad (12'). Mohamad Al Husseini reached surprisingly in the opposite box and tried a spectacular lob over the goalkeeper, but the ball went over the crossbar as well (20').

Ansar also had some opportunities as well, in the usual format, with Hassan Maatouk assisting, and supposedly El Hadji Malick Tall at the end of the action, but, as already pointed out, the Senegalese striker was not really connected to the game, and either missed or lost the ball before striking it.

Towards the end of the first half, the number of chances decreased, with just one header, by Tidiane Camara, above the crossbar (30').

Tidiane Camara (left, in black) missed several opportunities for Bourj FC, but scored the first goal of the game with a beautiful shot from a difficult situation. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

In the second half, it is interesting to note that Ansar started better with several good offensive actions, which put the Bourj FC defense and goalkeeper Ali Halal at work. Nevertheless, things gradually changed, with Bourj coming back into control, especially after Ali Merkabawi came in. Ali Merkabawi had an important contribution to both Bourj FC goals. For the first goal, after an action on the right side, he provided the decisive assist, a cross which was missed by Hilal El Helwe and the two defenders marking him, but not by Tidiane Camara, who came at the far post all alone and scored with his right leg from a difficult position: 0-1 (69').

Ali Merakabawi (Bourj FC, in yellow and black), here battling for the ball with Abdallah Aich (Ansar), came in as a sub in the second half and contributed decisively to both Bourj FC goals. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

Ten minutes later, the same Ali Merkabawi was tackled not far from the edge of the box, and the referee awarded a free kick for Bourj FC. Former Ansar player Houssem Louati executed perfectly: 0-2 (79').

Despite the desperate Ansar efforts to come back in the game, Bourj players handled the situation very well, and they even had the chance to make it 3-0, when Hilal El Helwe turned and had a good strike from short range, but was blocked by goalkeeper Nazih Assaad (84').

Disappointed Ansar players in the foreground, and celebrating Bourj players in the background. Photo source: Lebanese FA Facebook page

It was an exceptional game made by Bourj FC, and a weak one by Ansar, which suffered in all compartments. Ansar complained for a possible penalty which was not awarded for them when Shadi Skaf slightly touched with his hand and perhaps grabbed a little El Hadji Malick Tall in the box, but the TV replays were not convincing that it was indeed the case for a penalty. The sensation was that, overall, Bourj played better and deserved to win. Bourj also made a decisive step to qualify in the play-off (to be among the top six at the end of the regular season) and they also consolidated their place on the podium, as they remained in third place, and are only two points away from the top two. For Ansar this was their first defeat of the season, so far.

Ansar: Nazih Assaad - Nasser Nasser, Yacouba Doumbia, Robert Melki, Abdallah Aich (Ali Alaaeddine 84') - Ali Tneich, Youssef Al Hajj (Foudil Bouchentouf Idriss 65'), Yehya El Hendi (Nader Matar 46') - Hamza Hussein (Mohamad Hebous 46'), El Hadji Malick Tall, Hassan Maatouk. Manager: Edriss Mourabet.

Bourj: Ali Halal - Mohamad Zein Tahan, Ahmad Saleh, Shadi Skaf, Mohamad Al Hayek - Prosper Donkor, Mohamad Al Husseini (Mohamad Al Faour 87') - Ali Kassas (Ali Merkabawi 61'), Houssem Louati (Khodor Hallak 90'+1'), Tidiane Camara - Hilal El Helwe (Mohamad Al Sibaii "Wartan" 90'+1'). Manager: Hussein Tahan.

Referee: Ali Reda.

Full results, table and fixtures:

 

Round 8 (3-5 November 2023)

 

Shabab Al-Ghazieh – Shabab Sahel 1-2

Racing – Hikma / Sagesse 1-1

AC Tripoli – Al Ahed 0-1

Safa – Tadamon Sour 4-1

Ansar – Bourj 0-2

Nejmeh – Al Ahly Nabatieh postponed

 

Table

 

1	Nejmeh	7	6	1	0	18-4	19	Qualified for the play-off
2	Al Ahed	8	6	1	1	22-6	19	Qualified for the play-off
3	Bourj	8	5	2	1	15-7	17	Qualified for the play-off
4	Racing	8	3	4	1	14-13	13	Qualified for the play-off
5	Ansar	8	3	4	1	11-10	13	Qualified for the play-off
6	Safa	8	3	3	2	16-14	12	Qualified for the play-off
7	Shabab Sahel	8	2	4	2	8-11	10	Qualified for the play-out
8	Tadamon Sour	8	1	2	5	5-12	5	Qualified for the play-out
9	Al Ahly Nabatieh	7	0	5	2	5-12	5	Qualified for the play-out
10	Shabab Al-Ghazieh	8	1	2	5	5-16	5	Qualified for the play-out
11	Hikma / Sagesse	8	1	1	6	7-15	4	Qualified for the play-out
12	AC Tripoli	8	0	3	5	7-13	3	Qualified for the play-out

 

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 9 (9-12 November 2023)

 

Al Ahed – Tadamon Sour

Ansar – Shabab Al-Ghazieh

Nejmeh – Hikma / Sagesse

Safa – Bourj

AC Tripoli – Al Ahly Nabatieh

Racing – Shabab Sahel