League Play-Off

Arnold Stadium
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The audience was convinced that Mouloud Banouas's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Abdellah Medjadi Zaoui was relentless in the 10th minute of the game. In the 14th minute Ferhat Menad shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Abdellah Medjadi Zaoui saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 16 minutes, Mohamed Deghmani mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Paulding and the Arnold players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 16 played minutes Paulding got a freekick which was hit by Mohamed Deghmani. In the 17th minute the ball was on its way in behind Paulding's goalkeeper Salim Megharia, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. When Muhammad Aliche fell near the penalty area in the 31st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Paulding's protests and gave Muhammad Aliche a yellow card for diving instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ferhat Menad in the 39th minute of play forced Arnold's goalkeeper Abdellah Medjadi Zaoui to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Hocine Aribi charged in rather forcefully in the 47th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Hocine Aribi the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After the first half Paulding were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The wind increased when Souad Belloumi made the kick off in the second half. Mohamed Deghmani hit a great freekick 52 minutes into the match. 53 minutes into the match, Paulding's goal looked a bit too open when Souad Belloumi came free, but Salim Megharia reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Abdellah Medjadi Zaoui showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mouloud Banouas, who was totally free with the ball in the 55th minute. In the 58thth minute of the game Souad Belloumi who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Paulding's Salim Megharia was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Abdellah Medjadi Zaoui made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mouloud Banouas in the 62nd minute of play. If Ferhat Menad had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 67th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Mustapha Ouyahia fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 71st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Salim Megharia having to interfere. Mustapha Ouyahia received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 76th minute. Salim Megharia tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Paulding's zone, Souad Belloumi stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Salim Megharia came out of the goal and Souad Belloumi 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 Paulding getting a freekick after 79 minutes play. Muhammad Aliche hit a great ball. Fawzi Nasri, 82 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. Sid Ahmed Benhamou sent away a hard shot on goal in the 87th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ferhat Menad sent away a hard shot on goal in the 89th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 92 minutes into the game, Arnold's Mustapha Ouyahia nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Salim Megharia made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-1. The teams fought very hard right up to the final whistle. Both sets of players were happy to go away with a draw.