Jounieh closed to gap at the top of the Bank of Beirut Rugby League Championship to two points on Saturday afternoon, inflicting their first defeat on LAU this season after a draw and two narrow losses. The league’s best attack came up against its best defence in Bhamdoun, with the defence resting its case at halftime. Although LAU fought back gamely after the break to draw the second half 12-12, they had simply been left with too much to do.

Al-Galacticos had the better of the opening salvoes, pinning the Immortals back and scoring after six minutes through boom hooker Fadi Azzam, who, having been given the opportunity by dint of George Rahal’s suicidal offload in the shadow of his own posts, darted through a gap in LAU’s goal-line defence, picking up where he had left off against the UAE Rugby League XIII. Having registered a Liban Espoir record 22-points a week ago, Azzam, the league’s second highest scorer on 84 points, registered 18 of Jounieh’s total in probably his last game for the club this season. Both he and long-serving LAU hooker Ahmad Hammoud leave the country to work overseas, their departures sure to leave big holes in their respective teams.

In the 18^th minute LAU drew level after wing Kevin Haddad took scrum half Karim Jamal’s long pass on the hop and just managed to touch down inside the touch-in-goal line. But Jounieh restored their six point lead immediately through the try of the match. After LAU captain Mohamed Jamil had lost the kick off in the sunlight, Jounieh scrum half Danny Chemaly combined with Pierre Nasr on a second-man play, and the fullback’s fine offload found the supporting Ghassan Dandash who powered over from ten metres.  Al-Galacticos scored again in strange fashion seven minutes later. LAU’s best player, lock Robin Hachache, was penalized for a voluntary tackle after stopping playing while on his feet, and three rucks later Azzam bagged his brace in identical style. Nasr made it 22-6 on 38 minutes to give the men in black a 16-point lead at the break after Azzam had struck the post with his only failed conversion. 

Both teams created chances to score throughout an at times end-to-end match. LAU was denied two first half tries when Haddad was penalized for double movement and then Hachache was held up. In the second period Jounieh second row Nicolas Chammas was guilty of double movement, while both LAU centre George Rahal and Jounieh second row Ahmad El Masri lost possession in the act of scoring.

Hard working Immortals second row Hanni Rifai scooted over on 45 minutes, although LAU were lucky to escape an obstruction call against the marker. Dandash answered four minutes later, beating some slack defence after taking a short ball from Chemaly. On 59 minutes wing Bahije Saidar took advantage of Jounieh’s weak left side defence to score a soft try on the last tackle, making it 28-14. The score remained that way for 20-minutes until Nasr, who is now the second highest try-scorer in Lebanese rugby league history, scored his second against an LAU team temporarily reduced to 11 players due to injuries, and finally LAU front row Ray Finan just managed to ground on the hooter.

With the loss, LAU failed to clinch a play-off spot and are still in danger of missing out on post-season football altogether, with Balamand, AUB and Jounieh all capable of overhauling the league leaders. The Immortals face a crunch clash with arch-rivals AUB next Saturday, while Jounieh travel north to a Balamand side clinging onto their post-season hopes.