League Play-Off

Merrifield
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Amar Azem took the kick off in the first half of the match. 3 minutes into the game, Smail Cohen-Tannoudji was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Merrifield AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Jeannette AFC the free kick. Smail Cohen-Tannoudji hit a great freekick 3 minutes into the match. Lili Assad's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Abdel Larbi read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 5th minute of play. Lili Assad fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 12th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Abdel Larbi having to interfere. After recieving a nice pass, Jeannette AFC's Tedj Saci tried to score from far away in the 15th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou sent away a hard shot on goal in the 17th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 18 minutes, Farid Cohen mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Merrifield AFC and the Jeannette AFC players grew even worse after the yellow card. The supporters of Jeannette AFC booed when Merrifield AFC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 18 match minutes in a wonderful position. Farid Cohen didn't get a good kick on the ball. After a rather tough play, Jeannette AFC's Krim Banouas got a free kick in the 21st minute. After recieving a nice pass, Merrifield AFC's Karim Zaaf tried to score from far away in the 22nd minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. In the 24th minute, Lili Assad got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Reda Bensaïd recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 26th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 28 minutes into the match, Merrifield AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou came free, but Krim Djahnine reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Reda Bensaïd sent away a hard shot on goal in the 30th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Krim Djahnine took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 34th minute the ball was on its way in behind Merrifield AFC's goalkeeper Krim Djahnine, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. The supporters of Jeannette AFC booed when Merrifield AFC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 34 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jussef Ben Cixous didn't get a good kick on the ball. Merrifield AFC's Krim Djahnine played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou in the 37th minute of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Reda Bensaïd in the 42nd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Krim Djahnine prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Jussef Ben Cixous charged in rather forcefully in the 43rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Jussef Ben Cixous the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 43 played minutes Merrifield AFC got a freekick which was hit by Jussef Ben Cixous. Abdel Larbi didn't succeed in stopping the ball in the 48th minute, which inside left pole to 1-0. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou to make the kick off. Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou kicked well hit freekick during the 57th minute of the match. Abdel Larbi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Amar Azem in the 60th minute of the match. If Lili Assad had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 64th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 67 minutes into the match, Jeannette AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Lili Assad came free, but Abdel Larbi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 68 played minutes Merrifield AFC got a freekick which was hit by Farid Cohen. Jussef Ben Cixous got his second yellow card in the match during the 71st minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. 75 minutes into the game, Amar Azem was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Merrifield AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Jeannette AFC the free kick. In the 75th match minute, Merrifield AFC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Amar Azem to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou in the 77th minute of play forced Merrifield AFC's goalkeeper Krim Djahnine to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Merrifield AFC's Krim Djahnine played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Jean-Baptiste Bourebbou in the 82nd minute of play. In the 85th minute, Lili Assad ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Abdel Larbi was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-0. When Lili Assad came up free with the goalie in the 89th minute, the Merrifield AFC 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 Lili Assad couldn't finish the play. For all the effort they put into the match, the Jeannette AFC players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Merrifield AFC.