League Play-Off

Openshaw Park
Spectators: 38 (Terracing: 29, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Jahanzeb Zubair kicked off to start the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 5th minute, Andre Bramble managed to get in a good position for a shot. Openshaw's supporters rose to their feet, but Andre Bramble was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Hakim Rehman breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 9 minutes into the match, Broughton Astley's goal looked a bit too open when Andre Bramble came free, but Hakim Rehman reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The audience was convinced that Ahmad Shamshad's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Chaz Buxton was relentless in the 14th minute of the game. After having played for 15 minutes, Andrew Heath managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Openshaw's supporters crossed their fingers, but Andrew Heath 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 23rd minute Andrew Heath shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Hakim Rehman saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 24th match minute, Broughton Astley was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Khurram Rehman to maneuver through the defense. Hakim Rehman stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Andre Bramble's shot from short distance in the 25th minute. When Johnnie Aldridge fell near the penalty area in the 28th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Openshaw's protests and gave Johnnie Aldridge a yellow card for diving instead. After a rather tough play, Openshaw's Johnnie Aldridge got a free kick in the 28th minute. Jahanzeb Zubair sent away a hard shot on goal in the 29th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a rather tough play, Broughton Astley's Raza Wahid got a free kick in the 31st minute. 33 minutes into the match, Broughton Astley's goalkeeper Hakim Rehman had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Andrew Heath. Andrew Heath received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Hakim Rehman came out and tried to block the shot, but Andrew Heath slotted it home off the left post making it 1-0 in the 33rd minute. When the match had gone on for 40 minutes, Andrew Heath put it in 2-0 from a short distance just to the right of Hakim Rehman. In the 44th minute, Openshaw's Craig Gower seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Craig Gower the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Openshaw protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Craig Gower had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. The referee gave Broughton Astley a penalty, 46 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Tahir Sajid, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Openshaw's Chaz Buxton. 2-1.

Hakim Rehman made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Andrew Heath in the 64th minute of play. In the 67th minute, Andre Bramble hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. With a little luck, Openshaw's Chaz Buxton got control of the ball when Tahir Sajid tried to sneak it across the goal line. After a rather tough play, Broughton Astley's Khurram Rehman got a free kick in the 80th minute. 81 minutes into the game, Andrew Heath cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 3-2. Hakim Rehman was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After 87 played minutes Broughton Astley got a freekick which was hit by Tahir Sajid. Hakim Rehman showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ronny Illingworth, who was totally free with the ball in the 89th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jahanzeb Zubair in the 94th minute of play forced Openshaw's goalkeeper Chaz Buxton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Ansar Aslam fell near the penalty area in the 95th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Broughton Astley's protests and gave Ansar Aslam a yellow card for diving instead. In the 95th minute, Ansar Aslam hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Openshaw fans cheered their team off the field, for while Broughton Astley had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.