League Play-Off

Shepton Mallet Stadi
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Shepton Mallet's Abdellah Rabiâ 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 8thth minute of the game Aras Mezghich who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Shepton Mallet's Hamdane Nabil was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. 8 minutes into the game, Amir Soltani was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Shepton Mallet's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ashton-under-Lyne United the free kick. Aras Mezghich scored 0-1 in the 11th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Hamdane Nabil, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Aras Mezghich fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 13th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hamdane Nabil having to interfere. 15 minutes into the game, Djillali Bouziane cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Hamdane Nabil was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Aras Mezghich received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 18th minute. Hamdane Nabil tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Aras Mezghich had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 23rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When the match had gone on for 27 minutes, Mustapha Daham took a quick shot and it went in 1-2 without a chance for Oualid El Kebir to make any attempt to save it. Aras Mezghich's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Hamdane Nabil read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 32nd minute of play. Ashton-under-Lyne United's Aras Mezghich got a good chance for a goal in the 42nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Mustapha Daham kicked well hit freekick during the 43rd minute of the match. Makhlouf Amrouche fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 44th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hamdane Nabil having to interfere. Sabri Hanoune charged in rather forcefully in the 46th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Sabri Hanoune the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 45th minute of the game. One of Shepton Mallet:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Ashton-under-Lyne United:s goal. Djillali Bouziane shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Aras Mezghich made a kick off. Aras Mezghich fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 51st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hamdane Nabil having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 53rd minute, Abdallah Bentaala managed to get in a good position for a shot. Ashton-under-Lyne United's supporters rose to their feet, but Abdallah Bentaala was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Hamdane Nabil breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Makhlouf Amrouche received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Hamdane Nabil came out and tried to block the shot, but Makhlouf Amrouche slotted it home off the left post making it 1-3 in the 55th minute. Aras Mezghich received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 59th minute. Hamdane Nabil tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ashton-under-Lyne United's Djillali Bouziane pulled a muscle in his back after 61 minutes and couldn't finish the game. Mustapha Daham's late challenge caught a Ashton-under-Lyne United's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Mustapha Daham helped the player get up and apologised. In the 62nd match minute, Shepton Mallet was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Mustapha Daham to maneuver through the defense. Makhlouf Amrouche received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 68th minute. Hamdane Nabil tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Makhlouf Amrouche was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 71st minute. Ashton-under-Lyne United's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. After 72 minutes of play, Ashton-under-Lyne United's Abdallah Bentaala made it 1-4 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Hamdane Nabil was left in no man's land by his defense there! After a defensive mix-up in Shepton Mallet's zone, Abdallah Bentaala stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Hamdane Nabil came out of the goal and Abdallah Bentaala tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Adil Azzizi-Kettab hit a great freekick 85 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Abdellah Rabiâ in the 86th minute of play forced Ashton-under-Lyne United's goalkeeper Oualid El Kebir to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Abdallah Bentaala blasted a shot towards the goal in the 88th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Hamdane Nabil having to make a save. Oualid El Kebir showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mustapha Daham in the 92nd minute of the match. In the 93rd minute Amir Soltani shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Oualid El Kebir saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ashton-under-Lyne United's supporters were very happy and cheered loudly because their team had won after a very close match.