League Play-Off

Raceland
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when El Merzekane took the kick off in the first half of the match. The supporters of Raceland booed when Bishop FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 2 match minutes in a wonderful position. Slimane Kheyari didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 5th minute Said Hamruche shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Noureddine Mansouri saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Ali Boniche during the 6th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After a rather tough play, Bishop FC's Ali Boniche got a free kick in the 6th minute. 9 minutes into the match, Abdulhamid Mesbah had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Noureddine Mansouri. Raceland's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Abdulhamid Mesbah was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. If El Merzekane had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 12th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 16th minute, Slimane Kheyari hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Said Hamruche in the 18th minute of play forced Raceland's goalkeeper Noureddine Mansouri to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Abdulhamid Mesbah received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 19th minute. Noureddine Mansouri tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Said Hamruche came up free with the goalie in the 21st minute, the Bishop FC 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 Said Hamruche couldn't finish the play. Rachid Said sent away a hard shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After a defensive mix-up in Raceland's zone, Said Hamruche stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Noureddine Mansouri came out of the goal and Said Hamruche tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Rachid Said sent away a hard shot on goal in the 29th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 31 minutes of play, Bishop FC's Abdulhamid Mesbah made it 0-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Noureddine Mansouri was left in no man's land by his defense there! If Abdulhamid Mesbah had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 34th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 37th minute of the match Salah Tahar shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Abdellah Medjadi Benzine showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Raceland's Noureddine Mansouri played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Said Hamruche in the 38th minute of play. Djabir Chaib charged in rather forcefully in the 39th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Djabir Chaib the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Noureddine Mansouri took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Said Hamruche, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If El Merzekane had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 44th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Abdulhamid Mesbah to make the kick off. The crowd rose to their feet as Bishop FC's Abdulhamid Mesbah slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Noureddine Mansouri. That made the score 0-3 after 53 minutes of play. Abdulhamid Mesbah struck a weak shot in the 65th minute. Noureddine Mansouri didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Bishop FC. The audience thought a goal was coming when Said Hamruche got free with Noureddine Mansouri in the 67th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 75th match minute, Raceland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Rachid Said to maneuver through the defense. A collision led to Raceland getting a freekick after 78 minutes play. Halim Raï hit a great ball. Through an outstanding action, after 79 minutes, Noureddine Mansouri successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Slimane Kheyari hit a great freekick 81 minutes into the match. In the 90th minute Rachid Said shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Abdellah Medjadi Benzine saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Hamid Liegeon during the 96th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 96 played minutes Raceland got a freekick which was hit by Hamid Liegeon. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Bishop FC eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.