Championship 2002-2003 Round 22 Reports

Mabarrah vs. Bourj (3-0) 

Mabarrah Team achieved a great victory over the "wounded" Bourj team and won with 3 clear goals in the match which was held on Jounie Municipality Stadium. (First Half 2-0) 

This win refreshed Mabarrah's hopes to stay for another season in the first division (23 Points) and the team will play the matches of the "Death Zone" in great spirits considering the big difference with his closest opponents Ikhaa (16 Points) and Bourj (11 Points) who were already relegated to the second division. 

As for the match, it was in favor of  Mabarrah whose players controlled the match and scored 3 goals by his star Madio Konati while Bourj's players as if they were guests and didn't even threatened Mabarrah's goal. 

The goals were scored as follows:
At the 20^th minute, a long pass from Rabi'e El Ghoul to the right side and Madio Konati shoots to score the first goal for his team. At the 29^th minute, Ali Ahmed dribbled and passed through Bourj's defenders then passed the ball ahead to Madio Konati who never hesitated to score the second goal for Mabarrah. At the 48^th minute Nabih El Jurdi played a corner kick to the center of the Penalty area and Bourj defenders failed to clear the ball and Madio Konati shoots the ball in a quick move to score a Hattrick and Mabarrah's third goal. 

The match was refereed by Polish referees; Grigor Gilboski (Field Referee), Mousyi Wuzbuski (Assistant Referee) and Thomas Smilbnski (Assistant Referee). 

Yellow Cards: Ismael Fadel, Nabih El Jurdi, Ali El Atat and Madio Konati (Mabarrah).

Salam Zgharta vs. Ikhaa Ahley Aley (2-1) 

At Tripoli Municipality Stadium, Salam Zgharta snatched 3 valuable points from Ikhaa Ahley Aley after its win with two goals to one. (First Half 2-1) 

The first half was exciting and full of missing chances from both sides while the second half was slow and boring with Ikhaa having the upper hand who attacked and wasted two priceless chances to score; the best was at the 76^th minute for Abd El Wahab Abu El Heil who just had to score in the empty goal but the ball was chopped at the last minute. The second chance was before the match's end with one minute when Zaher El Andari broke through the penalty area and shot a masterful strike but Salam's goalkeeper made a great save on that ball. On the other hand, Salam depended on the dangerous counter attacks. 

The match's goals:
At the 5^th minute, Jad Muawad scored the first goal for Salam after the ball was deflected in the penalty area. At the 24^th minute, Ikhaa scored the equalizer with a penalty kick performed by Andre Silva after a foul committed on Abd El Wahab Abu El Heil. At the 33^rd minute, Pierre Boya dribbled with the ball and passed through Ikhaa's player Zaher Shhayib and shot a powerful ball from a well range and scored the ball on the left side of Ikha's goalie Mazen Mi'dad. 

The match was refereed by a group of Polish referees headed by Miroslav Reski and he was assisted by the Assistant Referees Daniel Rotoski and Andrew Jeik. 

Yellow Cards: Claude Regam (Salam) Zaher Shhayib and Maher Hamzi (Ikhaa)

Shabab Sahel vs. Safa (3-0) 

Shabab Sahel succeeded in winning the match against Safa (3-0) which was held at Bourj Hamoud Municipality Stadium (First Half 1-0). This win assured that Shabab Sahel will not play in the relegation square at the end of this season. 

Sahel's players controlled the match because they were well spread in the field and they were determined to win the 3 valuable points of the match While Safa didn't show their real skills mainly because the team missed the motif after securing its sixth place in the standing of the Championship. 

Jardel opened the scoring sheet for Sahel at the 22^nd minute with a lob ball in the far left side of the goal. The second goal was scored at the 63^rd minutes with a header by Shaaban Hmade. The third and final goal was scored by the Man of the Match Jardel who scored taking advantage of the goalie's advance. 

The match was refereed by the Polish referee Robert Mallc and was assisted by Christophe Mirmor and Mashtin Leiski.

Yellow Cards: Ali El Saedi (Safa)

Nejmeh vs. Ahed (2-1) 

A great run for Nejmeh who defeated the “fighting” Ahed with a 2-1 victory in the match, which was held on Sporting City Stadium and attended by huge spectators, estimated with 6000 person. (First Half: 1-0 for Nejmeh) The match was in a top condition, full of excitement and wasted chances from both teams and the forwards wasted those chances in an unbelievable way. Besides, the bars and the posts of the goals were always there to prevent many goals for both sides. 

The first half was full of missing chances. The best was in the 6^th minute, when Said Aboushi played a backward ball for Moussa Hjeij, who shot a powerful strike but Billal Hashem punched it to reach Abbas Atwi who played the ball towards the other angle but Bilal Hashem was there again to save his goal. At the 23^rd minute, Wahid Fattal made a mistake and Abu Baker Bah got the ball and shot it but the defender Husien Daher cleared the ball in last minute. At the 28^th minute, a cross ball from Mahmoud Shahoud and the header of Ahmed Itani hit the bar and then the defense cleared it. Two minutes later, a header by Mahmoud Shahoud hit the right post but Mahmoud Majid had a similar chance for Nejmeh when his header hit also Bilal Hashem’s post. At the 45^th minute, a shot by Mahmoud Karnib saved by Bilal Hashem and cleared it to a corner. Abbas Atwi played the corner, and the ball reached Aboushi who shot a great side-backward to score the first goal for Nejmeh. 

In the second half, Nejmeh controlled the field and Ahed were a little bit slow in their play but they re-arranged their lines hoping to score the equalizer. But the star Moussa Hjeij had the upper hand when he scored an unbelievable goal at the 70^th minute; a goal that can never be described in words. He got the ball from Zein El Abideen Saed and shot from a flying position to score in the right corner of Bilal Hashem’s goal. Before the end of the match with two minutes, Abu Baker Bah scored the only goal for Ahed when he received the ball from Mahmoud Shahoud inside the area and headed the ball into the goal. By this win, Nejmeh got 47 points with 3 points behind Olympic Beirut, while Ahed stayed with 41 points.

The match was refereed by a referee group from Poland headed by Miroslav Reshka who was assisted by Rafaelo Rostovski and Andre Jeick. 

Yellow Cards: Ahmed Taha and Aminou Ali (Ahed)

Tadamon vs. Ansar (1-1) 

The match between Tadamon and Ansar was held on Sour Municipality Stadium and the result was a 1-1 draw in front of 2500 spectators. (First Half 0-0)

Both teams played an attacking match and they didn’t succeed in scoring any goal until the dying minutes. At the 89^th minute Tadamon took the lead with a goal scored by Ibrahim Sabrawi who received the ball inside the area from Hamled – who made a great effort – and shot the ball on the right side of Ziad El Samad’s goal. But Ansar replied in a quick way after two minutes with a goal scored by ex-Racing player Wisam Abdallah -who played his first match this season - when Tadamon’s goalie and defenders failed to clear the crossed ball and Malek Hassoun passed it to Abdallah who scored the equalizer.

Note that Tadamon missed a penalty kick at 58^th minute when Ansar’s defender Haidar Abd El Razzaq committed a foul against Hamid Basma. But the penalty kick, which was played by Usama Haidar, hit the right post. 

A Polish referee refereed the match; Robert Malk and he was assisted by his fellow citizens Martin Leis and Christoph Miryos. The match was empty of bookings

Olympic Beirut vs. Sagesse (2-0) 

In the match that was held on Bourj Hamoud’s Stadium, Olympic Beirut strengthened its leadership for the standing with 50 points after its win over Sagesse with two clear goals, which were scored in the first half.

Thus Olympic was championed as the leader of the away round while Sagesse was rescued from playing in the “Death Zone” with goals’ difference for its favor between the team and Salam Zgharta. 

The match was for in favor of the winner who nearly controlled the match and wasted a lot of chances to score while Sagesse closed its area and was convinced with the result. The first goal was scored after three minutes of kickoff when Silvio - the leading scorer of the league - received the ball from Mohammad Kassas on the right side and scored his 18^th goal in the league with a powerful shot in Hamoud’s goal. At the 14^th minute, Nabil Baa’lbaki passed through the defenders with a great dribble and scored the second goal for his team. 

The match was refereed by the Polish referees; headed by Greizki and the linesmen Boski and Thomas assisted him.

Yellow cards: Jadir, Issa Ramadan (Sagesse)  Abbas Atwi (Olympic)

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