League Play-Off

Rankin Park
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Djamel Yacef kicked off to start the match. 5 minutes into the match, Rankin's goal looked a bit too open when Safy Hadjar came free, but Abdelmalek Fari reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Madhi Gaouaoui came up free with the goalie in the 9th minute, the Alpha 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 Madhi Gaouaoui couldn't finish the play. In the 15th minute of the match Boughera Oussalah shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Abd al-Asis Malek showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Alpha's Kasdi Djura got a good chance for a goal in the 16th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 20th minute, Mourad Lamine hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Abd al-Asis Kouici fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 24th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Abd al-Asis Malek having to interfere. If Djamel Yacef had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 26th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Abd al-Asis Kouici's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Abd al-Asis Malek firmly grabbed it by the left post. When the match clock showed 31 minutes, the score became 0-1 when Kasdi Djura sped through Rankin's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Abdelmalek Fari. Krim Megharia charged in rather forcefully in the 34th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Krim Megharia the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 34th minute, one of Alpha:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Alpha. Abd al-Asis Malek had in the 36thth minute some difficulties stopping Boughera Oussalah's well aimed penalty as it nearly passed him on his left side, but he still managed to hold the ball. The excitement rose when Rankin's Boughera Oussalah after 36 played minutes turned away three defenders near the goal, and after that shot a ball that was too difficult for Alpha's goalkeeper to hold. Score! 1-1. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Madjid Hamdani during the 39th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 39th match minute, Rankin was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Madjid Hamdani to maneuver through the defense. 45 minutes into the game, Moulay Sadaoui was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Alpha's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Rankin the free kick. After fighting hard for a draw in the first half, the players were able to take a much needed rest.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Safy Hadjar to strike the kick off in the second half. 53 minutes into the match, Rankin's goalkeeper Abdelmalek Fari had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Kasdi Djura. An unexpectedly hard shot by Abd al-Asis Kouici in the 55th minute of play forced Alpha's goalkeeper Abd al-Asis Malek to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 58 minutes into the game, Abd al-Asis Kouici cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-1. Abd al-Asis Malek was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Karim Adjani's late challenge caught a Alpha's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Karim Adjani helped the player get up and apologised. Madhi Gaouaoui hit a great freekick 63 minutes into the match. Safy Hadjar received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 66th minute. Abdelmalek Fari tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 74th match minute, Rankin was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Kamel Medjiba to maneuver through the defense. Safy Hadjar succeeded in the game's 77th minute to shoot an unreachable shot under the crossbar and scored - 2-2. Abdelmalek Fari didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Kasdi Djura went, in the 82nd minute, to the upper right corner, 2-3 was the resulting score. Safy Hadjar fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 86th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Abdelmalek Fari having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Alpha's zone, Kamel Medjiba stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Abd al-Asis Malek came out of the goal and Kamel Medjiba tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Abdelmalek Fari showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Safy Hadjar, who was totally free with the ball in the 94th minute. Mourad Lamine charged in rather forcefully in the 94th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Mourad Lamine the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 94 played minutes Rankin got a freekick which was hit by Mourad Lamine. Abdelmalek Fari made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Safy Hadjar in the 97th minute of play. The Rankin supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Alpha's performance. The match ended with a win for Alpha.