League

Bicester
Spectators: 6731 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1731, VIP seats: 0) Ghazi Dziri stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Soltani Bentaala's shot from short distance in the 5th minute. When Preston's Abdelatif Harkati in the 7th minute got a chance for a shot 7th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Bicester's goalie prevented a goal. In the 10th minute, Said Zahouania left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Preston fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. 18 minutes had been played when some careless play by Bicester's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Yacine Meniri was slow to take the kick. During this time Preston's players had a chance to rest. After 19 minutes, Hosni Ziani mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Bicester and the Preston players grew even worse after the yellow card. Yacine Meniri's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Badr Bencheikh read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 19th minute of play. In the 24thth minute of the game Soltani Bentaala who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Preston's Ghazi Dziri was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. If Said Zahouania had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 27th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Said Zahouania blasted a shot towards the goal in the 35th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Badr Bencheikh having to make a save. When Bicester's Soltani Bentaala in the 48th minute got a chance for a shot 48th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Preston's goalie prevented a goal. After the first half Preston were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Soltani Bentaala made a kick off. Said Zahouania sent away a hard shot on goal in the 53rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 56th minute Abdelatif Harkati shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Badr Bencheikh saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Mekki Djaout hit a great freekick 57 minutes into the match. Ghazi Dziri showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Hosni Ziani, who was totally free with the ball in the 69th minute. 73 minutes into the match, Soltani Bentaala notched a goal, 1-1, to the right of Preston's Ghazi Dziri. Ghazi Dziri was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Fawzi Ouadah charged in rather forcefully in the 75th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Fawzi Ouadah the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, Bicester's Razi Sadi got a free kick in the 76th minute. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Mekki Djaout during the 81st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Preston booed when Bicester was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 81 match minutes in a wonderful position. Mekki Djaout didn't get a good kick on the ball. Preston's Yacine Meniri couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 82nd minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Bicester. In the 84th minute Abdelatif Harkati shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Badr Bencheikh saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Abdelatif Harkati fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 89th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Badr Bencheikh having to interfere. In the 91st minute, Said Zahouania ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Badr Bencheikh was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-2. In the 98th minute Preston were awarded a corner. Yacine Meniri went to the cornerflag to take it. In the 99th minute, Madjer El Kebir hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When the final whistle sounded Preston left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Bicester.