League

Birkenhead Park
Spectators: 6753 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1753, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Karim Melki got the match started through his kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Karim Melki in the 3rd minute of play forced Birkenhead's goalkeeper Mehdi Slim to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 4 minutes into the game, Haykel Fitouri was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Birkenhead's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Highgate the free kick. Haykel Fitouri kicked well hit freekick during the 4th minute of the match. During the 6th minute of the match Haykel Fitouri completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Haykel Fitouri a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. Haykel Fitouri kicked well hit freekick during the 7th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Birkenhead's zone, Karim Melki stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Mehdi Slim came out of the goal and Karim Melki tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 9 minutes of play, Highgate's Mohamad Ouhir made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Mehdi Slim was left in no man's land by his defense there! After 20 minutes Highgate's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Kameleddine Jouili who took care of the corner kick. A nice corner shot did that Kameleddine Jouili got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Mokhtar Ben Zid quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Mehdi Slim took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Karim Melki, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. A collision led to Birkenhead getting a freekick after 37 minutes play. Ahmed Souayati hit a great ball. In the 40th minute, Mohamad Ouhir left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Highgate fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-2. If Ahmed Souayati had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 46th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The Birkenhead players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Highgate were winning 1-2.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Mehdi Abdi to strike the kick off in the second half. Ahmed Souayati fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 52nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Mokhtar Ben Zid having to interfere. The referee gave Birkenhead a penalty, 56 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Kameleddine Jouili, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Highgate's Mokhtar Ben Zid. 2-2. Mehdi Nafti received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 64th minute. Mokhtar Ben Zid tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mohamad Ouhir hit a great freekick 68 minutes into the match. In the 76th play minute Mohamad Ouhir came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Mehdi Slim. 2-3. Birkenhead's Mehdi Slim played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Karim Melki in the 89th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 92nd minute, Karim Melki managed to get in a good position for a shot. Highgate's supporters rose to their feet, but Karim Melki was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Mehdi Slim breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Chaouki Haggui was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 95th played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. Karim Melki sent away a hard shot on goal in the 97th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance.