League Play-Off

Golden Gate Park
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Hicham Sadi kicked off to start the match. In the 5th minute Hicham Sadi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Karim Boulmerka saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Cherif Abdi was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 6th minute. Golden Gate AFC's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. Hicham Sadi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 10th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Mehdi Saïd-Guerni 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. The audience was convinced that Hicham Sadi's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Karim Boulmerka was relentless in the 15th minute of the game. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Hamid Doutté during the 20th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Golden Gate AFC getting a freekick after 20 minutes play. Hamid Doutté hit a great ball. Ferhat Mesbah, 21 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. If Mehdi Saïd-Guerni had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 23rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Hicham Sadi scored 0-1 in the 23rd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Karim Boulmerka, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Mehdi Saïd-Guerni's late challenge caught a Golden Gate AFC's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Mehdi Saïd-Guerni helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Spring Valley FC's Mehdi Saïd-Guerni got a free kick in the 27th minute. 32 minutes into the match, Spring Valley FC's goalkeeper Tedj Benflis had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Mohamed Ben Ahmed Raï. A collision led to Spring Valley FC getting a freekick after 32 minutes play. Yazid Fillali hit a great ball. Karim Boulmerka took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Hicham Sadi, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Mehdi Saïd-Guerni fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 38th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Karim Boulmerka having to interfere. If Hicham Sadi had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 46th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After some careless play in the Golden Gate AFC defense, Mehdi Saïd-Guerni kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Karim Boulmerka. The Golden Gate AFC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Karim Boulmerka should have stopped the shot. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-3.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Cherif Abdi stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 57th minute, Mohamed Ben Ahmed Raï hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Mehdi Saïd-Guerni's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Karim Boulmerka read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 62nd minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cherif Abdi in the 66th minute of play forced Spring Valley FC's goalkeeper Tedj Benflis to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tedj Benflis showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cherif Abdi, who was totally free with the ball in the 70th minute. Cherif Abdi received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 85th minute. Tedj Benflis tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Hicham Sadi in the 88th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Karim Boulmerka saved Golden Gate AFC from getting behind. After a defensive mix-up in Golden Gate AFC's zone, Hicham Sadi stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Karim Boulmerka came out of the goal and Hicham Sadi tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Tedj Benflis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mohamed Ben Ahmed Raï in the 96th minute of the match. In the 98th minute, Hicham Sadi reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Karim Boulmerka. The goal made the score 0-4. When the match was over Spring Valley FC could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Golden Gate AFC throughout the match.