League

Rayleigh
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Qazim Al Tufail kicked off to start the match. In the 12th play minute Ziyad Omar came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Omar Haddad. 1-0. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Dani Hilmi during the 15th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 15 played minutes Rayleigh got a freekick which was hit by Dani Hilmi. Zahid Khashab took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 16th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Bashar Bakri. Rayleigh's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Bashar Bakri took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Qazim Al Tufail, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a rather tough play, Byblos Phéniciens's Rafiq Fayyad got a free kick in the 20th minute. 25 minutes into the match, Rayleigh's goal looked a bit too open when Qazim Al Tufail came free, but Bashar Bakri reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 26th minute Qasim Talab shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Omar Haddad saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Nazmi Labib kicked well hit freekick during the 29th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Byblos Phéniciens's Mahdi Haddad got a free kick in the 30th minute. With a little luck, Byblos Phéniciens's Omar Haddad got control of the ball when Yehia Romad tried to sneak it across the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in Byblos Phéniciens's zone, Zafar Maymun stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Omar Haddad came out of the goal and Zafar Maymun tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Zafar Maymun fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 47th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Omar Haddad having to interfere. Af the end of the first half the score was 1-0. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

The wind increased when Qasim Talab made the kick off in the second half. After having played for 54 minutes, Qasim Talab managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Rayleigh's supporters crossed their fingers, but Qasim Talab was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Mahdi Haddad recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 59th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. If Mahdi Haddad had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 65th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Bashar Bakri showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mahdi Haddad, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. Rafiq Fayyad kicked well hit freekick during the 76th minute of the match. 78 minutes into the match, Qasim Talab notched a goal, 2-0, to the right of Byblos Phéniciens's Omar Haddad. Omar Haddad was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 86th minute, Byblos Phéniciens's Shukri Ghanim ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Bashar Bakri. Bashar Bakri yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 3-1. Omar Haddad took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Qasim Talab, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Rayleigh's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.