League Play-Off

North Kansas City St
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) North Kansas City's Said Boulebda 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. Hamtramck's Ali Kensi proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 4th minute of the match, managed to save Hamtramck from getting a goal against them. In the 6th minute Said Boulebda shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ali Kensi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 9th play minutes Ahmed Yahia shot 0-1, a short shot which went by Salah Halimi and just under the crossbar into goal. Ali Kensi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Said Boulebda in the 13th minute of the match. Abdel Sadmi received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 14th minute. Salah Halimi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Abdel Sadmi in the 18th minute of play forced North Kansas City's goalkeeper Salah Halimi to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 20 minutes had been played when some careless play by North Kansas City's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Khalida Prévost was slow to take the kick. During this time Hamtramck's players had a chance to rest. Hamtramck's Khalida Prévost was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Salah Halimi in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. North Kansas City's Khair ad-Din Ali got a good chance for a goal in the 24th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Hamtramck's Ahmed Yahia got a good chance for a goal in the 36th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 40 minutes into the match, Hamtramck's goalkeeper Ali Kensi had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Khair ad-Din Ali. Khair ad-Din Ali fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 46th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ali Kensi having to interfere. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Ahmed Yahia made a kick off. With a little luck, North Kansas City's Salah Halimi got control of the ball when Abdel Sadmi tried to sneak it across the goal line. 59 minutes into the match, Hamtramck's goal looked a bit too open when Said Boulebda came free, but Ali Kensi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 62nd minute, Fodil Malek hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Ahmed Yahia was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 63rd minute. Hamtramck's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. After a rather tough play, North Kansas City's Khair ad-Din Ali got a free kick in the 66th minute. A collision led to North Kansas City getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Salim Akrour hit a great ball. After recieving a nice pass, Hamtramck's Khalida Prévost tried to score from far away in the 68th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. Soltani Badis's late challenge caught a Hamtramck's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Soltani Badis helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, North Kansas City's Soltani Badis got a free kick in the 70th minute. If Said Boulebda had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 75th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When North Kansas City's Said Boulebda in the 77th minute got a chance for a shot 77th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Hamtramck's goalie prevented a goal. The audience was convinced that Said Boulebda's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Ali Kensi was relentless in the 82nd minute of the game. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Hamtramck had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.