League

Hoddesdon Park
Spectators: 6736 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1736, VIP seats: 0) Rushden City's Moncef Medaci started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. 3 minutes into the match, Hoddesdon AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Brahim Lourdjane came free, but Mounaim Nasro reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, Hoddesdon AFC's Fadel Ghanem got a free kick in the 8th minute. If Redouane Hamyane had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 10th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Ismael Zarabi made a fantastic save in the 16th minute, when Redouane Hamyane sent off a good shot on target. When the match clock showed 19 minutes, the score became 0-1 when Brahim Lourdjane sped through Hoddesdon AFC's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Mounaim Nasro. When Abdelghafour Khelfellah fell near the penalty area in the 23rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Hoddesdon AFC's protests and gave Abdelghafour Khelfellah a yellow card for diving instead. Abdelghafour Khelfellah kicked well hit freekick during the 23rd minute of the match. Redouane Hamyane fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 29th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ismael Zarabi having to interfere. In the 30th minute Abdelghafour Khelfellah shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ismael Zarabi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Abdelghafour Khelfellah sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ismael Zarabi showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Abdelghafour Khelfellah, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. The audience held their breath when Nawfel Khalef in the 41st minute of the game managed to trick the opponents defenses and fired away a shot outside the goal on the Mounaim Nasro's left hand side. Ismael Zarabi didn't succeed in stopping the ball in the 45th minute, which inside left pole to 1-1. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

In the 54th minute Moncef Medaci shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Mounaim Nasro saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Rushden City were awarded a corner in the 56th minute after Hoddesdon AFC's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Nawfel Khalef took the corner. The corner ended in Abdelaziz Megharia almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Hoddesdon AFC's Mounaim Nasro did a great save. Abdelaziz Megharia hit a great freekick 57 minutes into the match. In the 58thth minute of the game Abdelghafour Khelfellah who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Rushden City's Ismael Zarabi was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. The supporters of Rushden City booed when Hoddesdon AFC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 64 match minutes in a wonderful position. Fadel Ghanem didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 66th minute, Moncef Medaci managed to get in a good position for a shot. Rushden City's supporters rose to their feet, but Moncef Medaci was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Mounaim Nasro breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 71st minute, Abdelghafour Khelfellah left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Hoddesdon AFC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-1. Moncef Medaci received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 85th minute. Mounaim Nasro tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ismael Zarabi showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Abdelghafour Khelfellah, who was totally free with the ball in the 87th minute. Abdelghafour Khelfellah sent away a hard shot on goal in the 89th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Moncef Medaci fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mounaim Nasro having to interfere. A hard shot by Salih Muqaddem from long distance, 95 minutes into the match, got Mounaim Nasro's attention. Through a fast twist with his body, he could stop the ball from going in on his right side. Nacer Laura Douibi hit a great freekick 96 minutes into the match. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Hoddesdon AFC had won after a very even match.