League

Southwark
Spectators: 6740 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1740, VIP seats: 0) Rochdale FC's Nouredine El Kettani started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. In the 3rd minute, Nouredine El Kettani got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Mohan Hammani stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Malek Kheyari's shot from short distance in the 11th minute. Halim Sebihi fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 14th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Balwa Merbah having to interfere. Balwa Merbah took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nouredine El Kettani, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Nouredine El Kettani received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 17th minute. Balwa Merbah tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Balwa Merbah showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Halim Sebihi, who was totally free with the ball in the 19th minute. In the 23rd minute Nouredine El Kettani shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Balwa Merbah saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Mohan Hammani made an important save on a dangerous shot by Rayan Fergani in the 26th minute. Rochdale FC's Halim Sebihi got a good chance for a goal in the 31st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Nouredine El Kettani fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Balwa Merbah having to interfere. Rayan Fergani received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 36th minute. Mohan Hammani tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Halim Sebihi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 39th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The supporters of Southwark United booed when Rochdale FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 42 match minutes in a wonderful position. Otman Dahmane didn't get a good kick on the ball. If Rayan Fergani had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 45th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The first half was very even, with the score at 0-0 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Malek Kheyari to make the kick off. After having played for 51 minutes, Nouredine El Kettani managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Rochdale FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Nouredine El Kettani was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 57thth minute of the game Nouredine El Kettani who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Southwark United's Balwa Merbah was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 58th minute, Malek Kheyari made a precise shot to the right of Mohan Hammani. Rochdale FC's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-0. When Rayan Fergani came up free with the goalie in the 73rd minute, the Southwark United fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Rayan Fergani couldn't finish the play. 77 minutes into the match, Malek Kheyari notched a goal, 2-0, to the right of Rochdale FC's Mohan Hammani. Mohan Hammani was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Halim Sebihi scored 2-1 in the 81st match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Balwa Merbah, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The audience thought a goal was coming when Halim Sebihi got free with Balwa Merbah in the 88th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Mohan Hammani showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rayan Fergani in the 91st minute of the match. 93 minutes into the game, Rochdale FC's Halim Sebihi nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Balwa Merbah made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-2.