04 March 2013

BEIRUT: A fourth minute goal from Hasan Mohammad propelled Nijmeh to the top of the standings Saturday, after they squeaked past Tadamon Sour 1-0 in round 15 of the Lebanese Football League.

With the win, Nijmeh moved a place and a point above Safa on 38 points. Safa could only manage a 2-2 draw with Tripoli Friday.

Nijmeh coach Moussa Hojeij was forced into an array of changes to his starting 11, with suspended Hussein Hamdan and injured Khalid Hamieh taking no part in proceedings, while Mohammad Jaafar, Nazih Assad and Samir Zinedine will be regular absentees after their alleged roles in the match-fixing scandal.

Sour has historically been an unhappy hunting ground for the big teams, but four minutes into the contest, Nijmeh staked their claim for all three points when Mohammad volleyed home from inside the box.

The 24-year-old latched onto Gilles Mbang Ondo’s headed knockdown before splitting two defenders and unleashing his effort to the right of the goalkeeper.

The early goal belied a fiercely contested match, and Mohammad was keen to point this out.

“Well actually this was the hardest game for us this year to be honest,” he told The Daily Star. “Tadamon Sour is a tough opponent, especially when they are playing at home, but we did our job as coach Moussa told us and came back with a victory.”

Mohammad bagged his second goal since returning from a stint with BEC Tero Sasana in Thailand, but the forward was eager to emphasize the importance of the result rather than focus solely on individual plaudits.

“The main thing was the three points that put us at the top of the league, but for sure I was happy to be the one scoring the winning goal.”

The breakthrough was followed by a placid half with both sides rarely threatening. Mohammad Shamas’ 38th minute strike that sailed over the crossbar typified a lackluster opening 45.

Tadamon improved significantly in the second half with Nijmeh goalkeeper Mohammad Dikramanji called into action on more than one occasion, after Richmond Konan laid siege to the guests’ goal. The lanky shot-stopper was aided by Brazilian defender Fabio, who 10 minutes from time cleared off the line from another Konan shot to ensure Nijmheh escaped the afternoon with maximum points in the bag.

Mohammad stressed this was only the beginning of the road as Nijmeh look for their first title since 2009.

“ We should concentrate on keeping first position until the end, and I guess with the quality that we have we can do it, but we have to keep working hard,” he said.

Also Saturday, Ahed, who will require wholesale changes to their squad after losing 11 players to match-fixing allegations, were dealt another blow after Adnan Melhem’s 47th minute strike condemned them to a 1-0 defeat.

Copyright The Daily Star 2013.