League Play-Off

Witney Stadium
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, 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. Rashid Meriah started the match with the kick off. Raouf Naybet sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Borhene Sboui in the 6th minute of play forced Blackburn's goalkeeper Rachid Belkahia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Raouf Naybet received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 7th minute. Rachid Belkahia tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mohamed Nefzi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 13th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After some careless play in the Witney City defense, Mohamed Nefzi kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Hatem Makhlouf. The Witney City fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Hatem Makhlouf should have stopped the shot. In the 22nd minute, Riadh Ragued hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Borhene Sboui had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 25th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Rachid Belkahia made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Borhene Sboui in the 29th minute of play. In the 31st minute the ball was on its way in behind Witney City's goalkeeper Hatem Makhlouf, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After some fancy dribbling in the 41st minute, Rashid Meriah managed to get in a good position for a shot. Blackburn's supporters rose to their feet, but Rashid Meriah was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Hatem Makhlouf breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

The wind increased when Borhene Sboui made the kick off in the second half. Rashid Meriah fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 54th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Hatem Makhlouf having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Raouf Naybet in the 59th minute of play forced Blackburn's goalkeeper Rachid Belkahia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Blackburn's Rashid Meriah in the 61st minute got a chance for a shot 61st didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Witney City's goalie prevented a goal. Rashid Meriah received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Hatem Makhlouf came out and tried to block the shot, but Rashid Meriah slotted it home off the left post making it 0-3 in the 67th minute. Raouf Naybet fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 70th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rachid Belkahia having to interfere. Borhene Sboui sent away a hard shot on goal in the 77th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. The supporters of Witney City booed when Blackburn was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 79 match minutes in a wonderful position. Habib Bourguiba didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 82nd minute Raouf Naybet shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Rachid Belkahia saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Hatem Makhlouf made an important save on a dangerous shot by Mohamed Nefzi in the 85th minute. 90 minutes into the match, Witney City's goal looked a bit too open when Rashid Meriah came free, but Hatem Makhlouf reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Borhene Sboui came up free with the goalie in the 97th minute, the Witney 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 Borhene Sboui couldn't finish the play. The Blackburn supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Blackburn would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.