League Play-Off

Herne Bay
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Tamem Al Herz took the kick off in the first half of the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 4th minute, Tamem Al Herz managed to get in a good position for a shot. Herne Bay AFC's supporters rose to their feet, but Tamem Al Herz was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ghazi Al Najdi breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 6 minutes into the game, Nasser Boland was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Herne Bay AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Alston the free kick. In a very dangerous position, a player in Herne Bay AFC fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 5th minute. Penalty! In the 7th minute there was a penalty for Alston. Darweesh Al Rodhan stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Dhari Al Hashash. 0-1. If Yousef Al Naqi had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Tamem Al Herz hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. After having played for 15 minutes, Yousef Al Naqi managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Herne Bay AFC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Yousef Al Naqi was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Saed Al Khars charged in rather forcefully in the 17th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Saed Al Khars the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 16 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Alston! In the 25th minute the ball was on its way in behind Herne Bay AFC's goalkeeper Dhari Al Hashash, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Dhari Al Hashash showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mamon Al Ramzi in the 27th minute of the match. Herne Bay AFC's Dhari Al Hashash played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mamon Al Ramzi in the 29th minute of play. Tamem Al Herz sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Dhari Al Hashash showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Farhan Taiban, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Farhan Taiban in the 40th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Dhari Al Hashash saved Herne Bay AFC from getting behind. If Mamon Al Ramzi had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 41st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Dhari Al Hashash showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Farhan Taiban, who was totally free with the ball in the 45th minute. In the 47th minute, Eshaq Ghadhanfer hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Ghazi Al Najdi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Yousef Al Naqi in the 56th minute of play. The supporters of Herne Bay AFC booed when Alston was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 58 match minutes in a wonderful position. Yasser Al Arbash didn't get a good kick on the ball. Ghazi Al Najdi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Tamem Al Herz, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The corner ended in Morad Al Qatam almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Herne Bay AFC's Dhari Al Hashash did a great save. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 68th minute of the game. One of Alston:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Herne Bay AFC:s goal. In the last second Dhari Al Hashash throw himself and got hold of the ball when Yasser Al Arbash in the 81stth minute from his position got away a shot towards the right post. Tamem Al Herz fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ghazi Al Najdi having to interfere. The supporters of Herne Bay AFC booed when Alston was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 84 match minutes in a wonderful position. Yasser Al Arbash didn't get a good kick on the ball. Mamon Al Ramzi's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 88thth minute, Dhari Al Hashash skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. 95 minutes into the match, Tamem Al Herz had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ghazi Al Najdi. Alston's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Tamem Al Herz was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. For all the effort they put into the match, the Alston players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Herne Bay AFC.