League Play-Off

Gilmorton
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Anis Hadfi started the match with the kick off. When Ghanim Badis fell near the penalty area in the 3rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Gilmorton FC's protests and gave Ghanim Badis a yellow card for diving instead. When Amine Meniri came up free with the goalie in the 5th minute, the Pontefract 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 Amine Meniri couldn't finish the play. A collision led to Gilmorton FC getting a freekick after 10 minutes play. Mokhtar Messaoudi hit a great ball. Amine Meniri fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rahim Haddou having to interfere. Amine Meniri's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Rahim Haddou read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 16th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Amine Meniri in the 18th minute of play forced Gilmorton FC's goalkeeper Rahim Haddou to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Sabri Boukhari had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 33rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a defensive mix-up in Pontefract's zone, Sofiane Bestandji stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dida Tahar came out of the goal and Sofiane Bestandji tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 39th minute, Amine Meniri managed to get in a good position for a shot. Pontefract's supporters rose to their feet, but Amine Meniri was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Rahim Haddou breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Rahim Haddou made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lakhdar Assad in the 41st minute of play. Anis Hadfi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 48th minute Anis Hadfi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dida Tahar saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The Gilmorton FC players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Pontefract were winning 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Amine Meniri made a kick off. In the 53rd match minute, Gilmorton FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Abdelaziz Teissier to maneuver through the defense. Dida Tahar showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Anis Hadfi in the 63rd minute of the match. Amine Meniri might have been able to make a better finish in the 67th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Rahim Haddou. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Amine Meniri ran back to his position shaking his head. Pontefract's Lakhdar Assad got a good chance for a goal in the 69th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Rahim Haddou made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Amine Meniri in the 71st minute of play. Bachir Piaf hit a great freekick 73 minutes into the match. Lakhdar Assad fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rahim Haddou having to interfere. With a little luck, Gilmorton FC's Rahim Haddou got control of the ball when Lakhdar Assad tried to sneak it across the goal line. Abdelmalik Hammani kicked well hit freekick during the 90th minute of the match. A collision led to Gilmorton FC getting a freekick after 93 minutes play. Abdelaziz Teissier hit a great ball. In the 96th minute the ball was on its way in behind Pontefract's goalkeeper Dida Tahar, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Pontefract eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.