League

Stanley
Spectators: 6726 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1726, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Lakhdar Khaldi started the match with the kick off. Canvey Island's Afdal Bachtobji played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Bassi Bentaala in the 5th minute of play. Faouzi Dahleb showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Otman Zemmam, who was totally free with the ball in the 7th minute. After having played for 9 minutes, Otman Zemmam managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Canvey Island's supporters crossed their fingers, but Otman Zemmam was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Lakhdar Khaldi fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 14th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Faouzi Dahleb having to interfere. Adal Taha charged in rather forcefully in the 16th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Adal Taha the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 16th match minute, Stanley was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Adal Taha to maneuver through the defense. After having played for 18 minutes, Lakhdar Khaldi managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Canvey Island's supporters crossed their fingers, but Lakhdar Khaldi was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Afdal Bachtobji showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bassi Bentaala in the 20th minute of the match. Adal Taha might have been able to make a better finish in the 23rd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Afdal Bachtobji. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Adal Taha ran back to his position shaking his head. Faouzi Dahleb made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lakhdar Khaldi in the 27th minute of play. If Lakhdar Khaldi had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 29th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. In the 32nd minute Amine Kahouadji shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Faouzi Dahleb saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 35 minutes, Ahmed Reda Zerguelaine mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Canvey Island and the Stanley players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to Canvey Island getting a freekick after 36 minutes play. Ahmed Reda Zerguelaine hit a great ball. In the 40th match minute, Canvey Island was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Mohamed Gaouaoui to maneuver through the defense. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Bassi Bentaala to make the kick off. The audience was convinced that Bassi Bentaala's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Afdal Bachtobji was relentless in the 56th minute of the game. Adal Taha struck a weak shot in the 58th minute. Afdal Bachtobji didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Stanley. Afdal Bachtobji showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Adal Taha in the 62nd minute of the match. 65 minutes into the match, Stanley's goal looked a bit too open when Amine Kahouadji came free, but Faouzi Dahleb reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 67 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Stanley! Abdelhafid Reda shot the penalty kick right outside the post. Otman Zemmam blasted a shot towards the goal in the 71st minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Faouzi Dahleb having to make a save. Afdal Bachtobji showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Bassi Bentaala, who was totally free with the ball in the 73rd minute. After a defensive mix-up in Stanley's zone, Otman Zemmam stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Faouzi Dahleb came out of the goal and Otman Zemmam tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After having played for 79 minutes, Amine Kahouadji managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Canvey Island's supporters crossed their fingers, but Amine Kahouadji was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After a defensive mix-up in Stanley's zone, Otman Zemmam stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Faouzi Dahleb came out of the goal and Otman Zemmam tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Adal Taha in the 87th minute of play forced Canvey Island's goalkeeper Afdal Bachtobji to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Bassi Bentaala received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 92nd minute. Afdal Bachtobji tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Adal Taha scored 1-0 in the 95th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Afdal Bachtobji, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Stanley's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.