League

Pine Beach Park
Spectators: 7491 (Terracing: 5619, Seating: 1723, VIP seats: 149) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Abdelnacer Amara made the kick off which started today's match. Rachid Fahimas short, quick shot in the 3rdth minute got Nadir El-Ouafi to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. After 7 played minutes Al-ArEEq got a freekick which was hit by Ali Benzine. 10 minutes into the game, Bottineau's Yazid Mekhloufi nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Halim Semghoun made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. After some careless play in the Al-ArEEq defense, Yazid Mekhloufi kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Halim Semghoun. The Al-ArEEq fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Halim Semghoun should have stopped the shot. Halim Semghoun showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Yazid Mekhloufi in the 20th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in Al-ArEEq's zone, Abdelnacer Amara stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Halim Semghoun came out of the goal and Abdelnacer Amara tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Rachid Fahima received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 23rd minute. Nadir El-Ouafi tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mohammed Asma hit a great freekick 27 minutes into the match. After some careless play in the Al-ArEEq defense, Yazid Mekhloufi kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Halim Semghoun. The Al-ArEEq fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Halim Semghoun should have stopped the shot. Halim Semghoun showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Yazid Mekhloufi, who was totally free with the ball in the 33rd minute. Rachid Fahima fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 35th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nadir El-Ouafi having to interfere. Rabah Bahari sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 40th minute, Hachemi Djebbour hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The crowd rose to their feet as Al-ArEEq's Rachid Fahima slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Nadir El-Ouafi. That made the score 1-3 after 42 minutes of play.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Rachid Fahima stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Rachid Fahima's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Nadir El-Ouafi read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 52nd minute of play. A collision led to Bottineau getting a freekick after 56 minutes play. Mohammed Asma hit a great ball. In the 57th minute, Houari Amara ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Nadir El-Ouafi was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-3. Houari Amara was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 68 minutes into the match. The referee gave Bottineau a penalty, 70 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Jean-Michel Brahmi, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Al-ArEEq's Halim Semghoun. 2-4. 73 minutes into the match, Bottineau's goal looked a bit too open when Rabah Bahari came free, but Nadir El-Ouafi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Abdelnacer Amara came up free with the goalie in the 76th minute, the Bottineau 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 Abdelnacer Amara couldn't finish the play. In the 81st minute, Rabah Bahari 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. Rabah Bahari sent away a hard shot on goal in the 83rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Rabah Bahari sent away a hard shot on goal in the 85th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Al-ArEEq's Yacine Chaib got a good chance for a goal in the 88th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 90 minutes into the game, Al-ArEEq's Rabah Bahari nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Nadir El-Ouafi made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 3-4. Bottineau were delighted with the way they had won the match. They had held their defensive line well and made the most of their chances, to claim a victory over Al-ArEEq's much stronger midfield.