League Play-Off

Atherton
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Abdelkader Béchar kicked off to start the match. After 2 played minutes Atherton got a freekick which was hit by Kheireddine Bachtobji. 6 minutes into the game, Lamine Hanous cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-0. Assad Bilal was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Brahim Fekhardji showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Hamdane Hammadouch in the 9th minute of the match. After having played for 11 minutes, Ferhat Kerrache managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Grantham City's supporters crossed their fingers, but Ferhat Kerrache was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Abdelkader Béchar in the 13th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Assad Bilal saved Grantham City from getting behind. Abdelkader Béchar received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 16th minute. Assad Bilal tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Redha Messayeb charged in rather forcefully in the 19th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Redha Messayeb the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 19th minute, one of Atherton:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Atherton. In the 25th minute, Lamine Hanous fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Assad Bilal, passed just outside the right post. With a little luck, Grantham City's Assad Bilal got control of the ball when Lamine Hanous tried to sneak it across the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in Grantham City's zone, Abdelkader Béchar stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Assad Bilal came out of the goal and Abdelkader Béchar tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. A collision led to Grantham City getting a freekick after 33 minutes play. Rami Sad hit a great ball. If Lamine Hanous had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 34th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Mouley Djebar sent away a hard shot on goal in the 37th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ferhat Kerrache received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 38th minute. Brahim Fekhardji tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Ferhat Kerrache came up free with the goalie in the 41st minute, the Grantham 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 Ferhat Kerrache couldn't finish the play. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Hamdane Hammadouch was the one to do the kick off. Grantham City were awarded a corner in the 53th minute after Atherton's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Rami Sad took the corner. Ferhat Kerrache made a great header on Grantham City's corner, it was just that Atherton's Brahim Fekhardji managed to reach the ball for a save. Assad Bilal showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Abdelkader Béchar in the 58th minute of the match. Lamine Hanous sent away a hard shot on goal in the 59th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After some careless play in the Grantham City defense, Abdelkader Béchar kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Assad Bilal. The Grantham City fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Assad Bilal should have stopped the shot. If Hamdane Hammadouch had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 71st minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. After 72 played minutes Atherton got a freekick which was hit by Amri Cherrad. The audience was convinced that Hamdane Hammadouch's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Brahim Fekhardji was relentless in the 74th minute of the game. Hamdane Hammadouch blasted a shot towards the goal in the 76th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Brahim Fekhardji having to make a save. After 81 minutes, Hamdane Hammadouch mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Grantham City and the Atherton players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 81st match minute, Grantham City was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Hamdane Hammadouch to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lamine Hanous in the 89th minute of play forced Grantham City's goalkeeper Assad Bilal to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Lamine Hanous received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 90th minute. Assad Bilal tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 93 minutes, Abdelkader Béchar made it 3-1 with a short kick to the right side. Grantham City's Assad Bilal tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Atherton's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.