League Play-Off

Hawkcombe Stadium
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Hawkcombe's Slim Ben Bourguiba 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. Hédi Nefzi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Slim Ben Bourguiba in the 4th minute of the match. Slim Ben Bourguiba recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 13th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Habib Benslimane hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. Slim Ben Bourguiba received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 18th minute. Hédi Nefzi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. A collision led to Berkhamsted City getting a freekick after 20 minutes play. Ghazi Ayed hit a great ball. The referee felt a red card was in order, 22 minutes into the game, when Ali David put in a rough tackle. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 22nd minute of the game. One of Hawkcombe:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Berkhamsted City:s goal. Ali Ishola received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 28th minute. Hédi Nefzi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 32nd minute Fethi Melki shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Tahar Boulaabi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ali Ishola might have been able to make a better finish in the 38th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Hédi Nefzi. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Ali Ishola ran back to his position shaking his head. An unexpectedly hard shot by Fethi Melki in the 43rd minute of play forced Hawkcombe's goalkeeper Tahar Boulaabi to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Ali Ishola had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 44th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The supporters of Hawkcombe booed when Berkhamsted City was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 45 match minutes in a wonderful position. Habib Benslimane didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 47th minute, Ali Ishola left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Hawkcombe fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. The first half was very even, with the score at 1-1 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Fethi Melki stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Hédi Nefzi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ali Ishola, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Tahar Boulaabi was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Fethi Melki showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-2 in the 56 minute of play. Fethi Melki had several of the Hawkcombe's defenders around him in the penalty area when he, after 63 minutes of play, received a pass and succeeded in some way to shoot a shot which went straight ahead into goal. This resulted in a 1-3 score and a disappointed Tahar Boulaabi as he didn't even see the shot coming. When Néji Mhedhebi came up free with the goalie in the 70th minute, the Berkhamsted 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 Néji Mhedhebi couldn't finish the play. After 73 minutes of play, Hawkcombe's Ali Ishola made it 2-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Hédi Nefzi was left in no man's land by his defense there! When Ghazi Ayed fell near the penalty area in the 76th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Berkhamsted City's protests and gave Ghazi Ayed a yellow card for diving instead. After a rather tough play, Berkhamsted City's Ghazi Ayed got a free kick in the 76th minute. Ali Ishola fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 80th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hédi Nefzi having to interfere. Néji Mhedhebi who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 88thth minute tested the skills of Tahar Boulaabi when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Ali Ishola received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 92nd minute. Hédi Nefzi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 94 minutes of play, Hawkcombe's Habib Ben Saada made it 3-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Hédi Nefzi was left in no man's land by his defense there! The second half was just like the first, even and exciting. The match ended in a draw.