World League

Marrakesh Complèxe
Spectators: 7486 (Terracing: 5615, Seating: 1722, VIP seats: 149) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Carl Downes made the kick off which started today's match. Cássio Proença could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 2nd minute of the match, but Tim Johnstone made a huge save. Nacer Khlifi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Marrakech FC's Nacer Khlifi in the 6th minute got a chance for a shot 6th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye The Tigers's goalie prevented a goal. Tim Johnstone took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nacer Khlifi, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Alan Mota hit a great freekick 15 minutes into the match. The audience was convinced that Nacer Khlifi's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Tim Johnstone was relentless in the 17th minute of the game. When the match clock showed 17 minutes, the score became 1-0 when Nacer Khlifi sped through The Tigers's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Tim Johnstone. Abdellatif Benkhirane might have been able to make a better finish in the 21st minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Tim Johnstone. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Abdellatif Benkhirane ran back to his position shaking his head. Tim Johnstone stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Abdellatif Benkhirane's shot from short distance in the 22nd minute. In the 31stth minute of the game Abdellatif Benkhirane who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but The Tigers's Tim Johnstone was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Tim Johnstone showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nacer Khlifi in the 33rd minute of the match. Abdellatif Benkhirane received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Tim Johnstone came out and tried to block the shot, but Abdellatif Benkhirane slotted it home off the left post making it 2-0 in the 35th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Carl Downes in the 37th minute of play forced Marrakech FC's goalkeeper Sebastião Salgado to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Abdellatif Benkhirane recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 42nd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Carl Downes in the 45th minute of play forced Marrakech FC's goalkeeper Sebastião Salgado to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Nacer Khlifi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 46th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 2-0 at half-time.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Abdellatif Benkhirane made a kick off. Abdellatif Benkhirane received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 52nd minute. Tim Johnstone tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Sebastião Salgado was out of position in the 55 minute of play, and Carl Downes capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Carl Downes really showed his touch with that goal: 2-1. The Tigers made a substitution. Phil Clarke replaced Frankie Brookes. An unexpectedly hard shot by Abdellatif Benkhirane in the 61st minute of play forced The Tigers's goalkeeper Tim Johnstone to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tim Johnstone showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nacer Khlifi, who was totally free with the ball in the 65th minute. Tim Johnstone took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Abdellatif Benkhirane, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Abdellatif Benkhirane had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 74th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Marrakech FC made a substitution. Du Jie Han replaced Alan Mota. Cássio Proença sent away a hard shot on goal in the 80th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 86th minute, Nacer Khlifi 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. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Marrakech FC fully deserved thier win.