Match Report
Sat 23 February 13
Video Highlights
Sat 23 Feb
12:00PM
12:00PM
11
Immortals RLFC
16 - 10
Tripoli RLFC
Athletico Stadium
16
Immortals RLFC
10
Tripoli RLFC
Sat 23 Feb
12:00PM
12:00PM
11
Athletico Stadium
| Teams | Immortals RLFC | Tripoli RLFC |
|---|---|---|
| Tries | Ahmad Hammoud 1, Rayan Abi Raad 1, Ahmad Hammoud 1, . | Omar Marhaba 1, Richard Issa 1, . |
| Goals | Karim Jammal 2/3, . | Samer Nehmeh 1/1, Steve Fadel 0/1, . |
| Drop Goals | ||
| Disciplinary |
In its eager to spread the game into the heart of Lebanon, the LRLF held its latest LRL Championship round at the new and impressive Athletico Sports Club in Dbayeh. Situated a stone’s throw above the Marina, the spectacular view added to the Rugby League scene, however Mother Nature had other ideas as the heavens opened up and a deluge of rain came down just before kickoff and remained on and off for the entire night.
Immortals overturned a 10-point deficit to maintain their undefeated record this season at the expense of Tripoli City tonight. They trailed 10-0 at halftime but produced a strong second-half showing and three unanswered tries saw them hold on to a 16-10 win.
Both teams were in the thick of things from the outset with bone jarring hit ups and crashing tackles that exposed there was plenty of feeling in this contest.
The Immortals were on the wrong side of the referee's whistle early on with penalties and some dropped ball saw them bogged down inside their own half for much of the opening stanza. Tripoli City didn’t let this advantage go to waste as Omar Marhaba and Richard Issa both posted tries and the Northerners were ahead 10-0 after 15 minutes.
Although the Immortals had the territorial advantage and the bulk of possession they were unable to engineer any points, with Tripoli City defending solidly on the edges and communicating well to shut down raids on the outside. Immortals looked to have scored on a number of times but three and four-man gang tackles repeatedly foiled the plot. Their dogged defense stood firm right up to half time and took the 10-0 score into the interval.
Eight minutes into the second forty, the Immortals finally had some luck when Ahmad Hammoud barged over next to the posts and the conversion made it 10-6. From there the Immortals were able to work their way towards their opponent’s line and some prolonged possession ended with a Rayan Abi Raad try and the extra two points put the Immortals into the lead 12-10 for the first time of the match with 20 minutes to go.
With 15 minutes left on the clock Tarek Hammoud scored the clincher, running a straight line on to a short ball to go over beside the posts and make it a 6-point buffer. The final stanza saw the tables turn as now Tripoli City fired everything they had at a rock solid defense. However, time ran out and the Immortals held on to their narrowest win of the season at 16-10.
Referee: Gaby Haddad. Touch Judges: Rodrigue Jbeily, Jad Esseily. 4th Official: Sami Assaf
Immortals: Mazen Tawil, Tarek Hammoud, Joe Safa, Mazen Kino, Rayan Abi Raad, Karim Jammal, Yves Khoury, Adam Itani, Ahmad Hammoud, Mounir Finan, Maxime Chalhoub, Kahil Bejjani, Rudy Hachache, Atef Hamdan, Raymond Finan, Abed Ghazzawi, Freddy Beani
Tripoli City: Khaled Darwich, Omar Baltaga, Ghassan Fadel, Kevin Sassine, Nami El Baba, Steve Fadel, Samer Nehmeh, Tarek Fadli, Omar Marhaba, Aziz Smiley, Mike Elias, Micheal Moubarak, Richard Issa, Khaled Mekary, Charbil Khattar
Immortals overturned a 10-point deficit to maintain their undefeated record this season at the expense of Tripoli City tonight. They trailed 10-0 at halftime but produced a strong second-half showing and three unanswered tries saw them hold on to a 16-10 win.
Both teams were in the thick of things from the outset with bone jarring hit ups and crashing tackles that exposed there was plenty of feeling in this contest.
The Immortals were on the wrong side of the referee's whistle early on with penalties and some dropped ball saw them bogged down inside their own half for much of the opening stanza. Tripoli City didn’t let this advantage go to waste as Omar Marhaba and Richard Issa both posted tries and the Northerners were ahead 10-0 after 15 minutes.
Although the Immortals had the territorial advantage and the bulk of possession they were unable to engineer any points, with Tripoli City defending solidly on the edges and communicating well to shut down raids on the outside. Immortals looked to have scored on a number of times but three and four-man gang tackles repeatedly foiled the plot. Their dogged defense stood firm right up to half time and took the 10-0 score into the interval.
Eight minutes into the second forty, the Immortals finally had some luck when Ahmad Hammoud barged over next to the posts and the conversion made it 10-6. From there the Immortals were able to work their way towards their opponent’s line and some prolonged possession ended with a Rayan Abi Raad try and the extra two points put the Immortals into the lead 12-10 for the first time of the match with 20 minutes to go.
With 15 minutes left on the clock Tarek Hammoud scored the clincher, running a straight line on to a short ball to go over beside the posts and make it a 6-point buffer. The final stanza saw the tables turn as now Tripoli City fired everything they had at a rock solid defense. However, time ran out and the Immortals held on to their narrowest win of the season at 16-10.
Referee: Gaby Haddad. Touch Judges: Rodrigue Jbeily, Jad Esseily. 4th Official: Sami Assaf
Immortals: Mazen Tawil, Tarek Hammoud, Joe Safa, Mazen Kino, Rayan Abi Raad, Karim Jammal, Yves Khoury, Adam Itani, Ahmad Hammoud, Mounir Finan, Maxime Chalhoub, Kahil Bejjani, Rudy Hachache, Atef Hamdan, Raymond Finan, Abed Ghazzawi, Freddy Beani
Tripoli City: Khaled Darwich, Omar Baltaga, Ghassan Fadel, Kevin Sassine, Nami El Baba, Steve Fadel, Samer Nehmeh, Tarek Fadli, Omar Marhaba, Aziz Smiley, Mike Elias, Micheal Moubarak, Richard Issa, Khaled Mekary, Charbil Khattar