League

Loughborough Stadium
Spectators: 6746 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1746, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Madjer Boulebda took the kick off in the first half of the match. Yanis Belaout came free with the goalkeeper in the 5th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Abdel Bridji could save by the left post. Ammar Meriem showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Taha Harkat, who was totally free with the ball in the 7th minute. Ammar Meriem took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Aziz Bahari, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Abdelhakim Halouadji kicked well hit freekick during the 8th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Taha Harkat in the 10th minute of play forced Loughborough's goalkeeper Ammar Meriem to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Aziz Bahari in the 12th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Ammar Meriem saved Loughborough from getting behind. After a defensive mix-up in Loughborough's zone, Taha Harkat stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ammar Meriem came out of the goal and Taha Harkat tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. If Aziz Bahari had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 20th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The supporters of Cottingham City booed when Loughborough was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 21 match minutes in a wonderful position. Amawal Ayad didn't get a good kick on the ball. Loughborough's Ammar Meriem played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Taha Harkat in the 24th minute of play. In the last second Abdel Bridji throw himself and got hold of the ball when Madjer Boulebda in the 30thth minute from his position got away a shot towards the right post. Zidan Said charged in rather forcefully in the 33rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Zidan Said the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Abdelmalek Djoudi placed the ball on the penalty spot and got himself ready to shoot. Post out! Aziz Bahari received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 36th minute. Ammar Meriem tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Yanis Belaout fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 39th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Abdel Bridji having to interfere. When Taha Harkat came up free with the goalie in the 45th minute, the Cottingham City 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 Taha Harkat couldn't finish the play. Aziz Bahari sent away a hard shot on goal in the 47th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Aziz Bahari to make the kick off. Taha Harkat fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 57th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ammar Meriem having to interfere. 62 minutes into the game, Abdelhakim Halouadji was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Loughborough's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Cottingham City the free kick. Yanis Belaout recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 68th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Lamine Matoub received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 72nd minute. Ammar Meriem tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Abdelhakim Halouadji kicked well hit freekick during the 73rd minute of the match. In the 75th minute, Aziz Bahari ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Ammar Meriem was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Yanis Belaout might have been able to make a better finish in the 81st minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Abdel Bridji. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Yanis Belaout ran back to his position shaking his head. Abdel Bridji showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Madjer Boulebda, who was totally free with the ball in the 83rd minute. Taha Harkat sent away a hard shot on goal in the 88th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Yanis Belaout came up free with the goalie in the 94th minute, the Loughborough 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 Yanis Belaout couldn't finish the play. Yanis Belaout blasted a shot towards the goal in the 96th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Abdel Bridji having to make a save. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Cottingham City walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.