Al-Ansar vs Homenmen. 
"Beirut Municipal Stadium". Sunday 30/05/1999. 5:00pm. 

The 1998/1999 Football season reaches its climax on Sunday, with the traditional showdown of the FA Cup final between hot-favorites and reigning league champions Al-Ansar and last season's competition's beaten finalists, Homenmen. 

Al-Ansar have already proved that they're in a league of their own: Undisputed league champions for the 11th consecutive season (an achievement unrivalled at the world stage), going strong to clinch the cup trophy for a record 8th time in their already distinguished history, and better yet.....having all the ingredients to pose themselves as the club every side are compelled to beat if to secure some silverware at the domestic level. 

Homenmen, on the other side, are always an outfit very hard to maneuver in a patch of just one game. Nejmeh have bitterly experienced this fact in their semi-finals tie early this month, knocked out by Homenmen despite leading (2-0) at one stage, to get ultimately ousted on penalty shoot-out kicks. 

Fixtures between both Al-Ansar and Homenmen are always hard-fought, very close and greatly disputed. The league results clearly unveils this crucial fact, as both sides failed to detach at the last hurdle of both encounters which ended goalless during the 6th and 17th Week. 

In the FA Cup final annals, statistics show us that Al-Ansar had the edge over Homenmen in the 1993/1994 final, as they run out (4-1) ultimate winners of this coveted prize. 

Homenmen are aware that the cup has always eluded them in the near past, finishing as losers on 3 occasions this decade: defeated (4-1) by Al-Burj in the 1992/1993 final, also by the same scoreline in the 1993/1994 final at the hands of Al-Ansar, before going down (2-1) to Nejmeh in last season's final. 

Al-Ansar will be able to field their strongest first-team choice of players who were rested in last Sunday's league match with Al-Burj, while Homenmen will rely once again on the very same side who thrashed Ahly Sidon (6-3) on Saturday. 

Route to the final stage: Al-Ansar easily disposed of second-division outfit Riyada Wal-Adab (3-0) in their 1/8th final tie, thanks to goals scored by Leith Hussein (2') and top marksman Peter Prospar, twice (49'; 88'), before gaining a narrow (2-1) victory over Al-Ahid in the quarter-finals round through Prospar again (63'; 120'), then ousting arch-rivals Safa in the last four stage by the same scoreline thanks to the prolific Prospar (31') and Malek Hassoun (85'). 

Homenmen knocked out second-division side Al-Islah (3-1) in their respective 1/8th round fixture, thanks to Ahmed Najm (65'; 90') and Syrian international forward Abdullatif al-Helou (74'), before beating Tadamon Sour in the quarter-finals stage (2-0) thanks to 2 strikes from Sarkis Abajian (27') and Abdullatif al-Helou (48'), and defeating Nejmeh on penalty kicks following a (2-2) scoreline after extra-time period, courtesy of their midfield ace, Garo Krekorian (48'; 69'). 

Everything will be at stake for the upcoming FA cup final next Sunday: Al-Ansar to claim yet another local record, Homenmen to write their name for the first-ever time in the club history as the prize's winners. 

By "World Soccer" Magazine Reporter, Mohamed Chbaro.