League Play-Off

Blackwood
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Mourad Nabil took the kick off in the first half of the match. Chaba Louahla received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 5th minute. Abdel Mehenni tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Hameur Madjer kicked well hit freekick during the 11th minute of the match. The long shot by Hachemi Benyamina in the 12th minute really tested Abdel Mehenni's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. 19 minutes into the game, Charles Benida was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Blackwood's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Waterbury the free kick. Charles Benida kicked well hit freekick during the 19th minute of the match. After 20 played minutes, Waterbury's Ahmed Fadela shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Said Cherfa came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Waterbury reached it. If Charles Benida had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 26th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Said Cherfa didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Said Ali went, in the 29th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. In the 33rd minute, Mourad Nabil ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Abdel Mehenni was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. The audience thought a goal was coming when Chaba Louahla got free with Abdel Mehenni in the 40th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 42 minutes into the match, Said Ali had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Said Cherfa. Blackwood's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Said Ali was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2.

An unexpectedly hard shot by Charles Benida in the 52nd minute of play forced Waterbury's goalkeeper Abdel Mehenni to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 53rd match minute, Blackwood was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Charles Benida to maneuver through the defense. With an all-out effort, Waterbury's Said Cherfa threw himself towards the right post 56 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Abdelhamid Gourion, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. In the 58th minute of the match Waterbury got a corner. Blackwood's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Ahmed Fadela ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner ended in Abdelhamid Bentifour almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Blackwood's Said Cherfa did a great save. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Abdelhamid Gourion in the 59th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Said Cherfa saved Blackwood from getting behind. After a rather tough play, Blackwood's Karim Medjiba got a free kick in the 60th minute. Said Cherfa made an important save on a dangerous shot by Said Ali in the 62nd minute. Abdel Mehenni took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Chaba Louahla, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Said Ali blasted a shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Said Cherfa having to make a save. Charles Benida got his second yellow card in the match during the 69th minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. Abdelhamid Gourion received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 73rd minute. Said Cherfa tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Said Ali had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 75th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 84th minute Abdelhamid Gourion shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Said Cherfa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Waterbury's Abdelhamid Gourion got a good chance for a goal in the 86th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Abdel Mehenni showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Chaba Louahla, who was totally free with the ball in the 96th minute. Waterbury's supporters were very happy and cheered loudly because their team had won after a very close match.