League Play-Off

Coulsdon Park
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Birmingham FC's Tahar Hammemi 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. The supporters of Coulsdon booed when Birmingham FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 4 match minutes in a wonderful position. Chedli Gtari didn't get a good kick on the ball. 7 minutes into the match, Birmingham FC's goal looked a bit too open when Hassan Jaouachi came free, but Borhene Kerrit reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Aymen Bourchada hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. If Tahar Hammemi had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 15th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After 17 minutes of play, Birmingham FC's Karim Escheikh made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Jose Sboui was left in no man's land by his defense there! An unexpectedly hard shot by Rachid Gharbi in the 23rd minute of play forced Birmingham FC's goalkeeper Borhene Kerrit to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 25th minute, Hassan Jaouachi managed to get in a good position for a shot. Coulsdon's supporters rose to their feet, but Hassan Jaouachi was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Borhene Kerrit breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 28 minutes into the match, Tahar Hammemi had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Jose Sboui. Coulsdon's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Tahar Hammemi was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2. Aymen Bourchada hit a great freekick 32 minutes into the match. The supporters of Birmingham FC booed when Coulsdon was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 37 match minutes in a wonderful position. Hassan Jaouachi didn't get a good kick on the ball. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rachid Gharbi in the 43rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Borhene Kerrit prevented the ball from getting in the gole. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rachid Gharbi in the 46th minute of play forced Birmingham FC's goalkeeper Borhene Kerrit to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Disappointed in the 1-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Rachid Gharbi was the one to do the kick off. In the 52nd minute, Hassan Jaouachi got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Birmingham FC's Borhene Kerrit played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Hassan Jaouachi in the 60th minute of play. In the 66thth minute of the game Tahar Hammemi who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Coulsdon's Jose Sboui was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 68th minute, Mokhtar Habib Benfrej hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rachid Gharbi in the 70th minute of play forced Birmingham FC's goalkeeper Borhene Kerrit to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 70 minutes into the match, Rachid Gharbi notched a goal, 2-2, to the right of Birmingham FC's Borhene Kerrit. Borhene Kerrit was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. 73 minutes into the match, Coulsdon's goal looked a bit too open when Tahar Hammemi came free, but Jose Sboui reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 76th minute Rachid Gharbi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Borhene Kerrit saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hassan Jaouachi in the 84th minute of play forced Birmingham FC's goalkeeper Borhene Kerrit to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Abderrahman Sallemi hit a great freekick 85 minutes into the match. Jose Sboui made an important save on a dangerous shot by Karim Escheikh in the 89th minute. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Birmingham FC walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.