League

Croydon Park
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) After having played for 5 minutes, Hisham Mumtaz managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Atletico Beirut's supporters crossed their fingers, but Hisham Mumtaz was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Wakil Husam might have been able to make a better finish in the 6th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Hamad Muwaffaq. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Wakil Husam ran back to his position shaking his head. Mostafa Jabal blasted a shot towards the goal in the 10th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Hamad Muwaffaq having to make a save. The supporters of Croydon AFC booed when Atletico Beirut was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 12 match minutes in a wonderful position. Hafiz Abou Adal didn't get a good kick on the ball. After having played for 13 minutes, Sulaiman Fathi managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Croydon AFC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Sulaiman Fathi was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Hisham Mumtaz sent away a hard shot on goal in the 17th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 21 minutes into the match, Croydon AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Hisham Mumtaz came free, but Hamad Muwaffaq reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ubaid Basim's late challenge caught a Atletico Beirut's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Ubaid Basim helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to Croydon AFC getting a freekick after 24 minutes play. Ubaid Basim hit a great ball. In the 25th minute of the match Yazid Abdul Hakim shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Hamad Muwaffaq showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Tawfiq Zidan charged in rather forcefully in the 27th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Tawfiq Zidan the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Tawfiq Zidan hit a great freekick 27 minutes into the match. 31 minutes into the match, Croydon AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Mostafa Jabal came free, but Hamad Muwaffaq reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Atletico Beirut's Wakil Husam got a good chance for a goal in the 32nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 34th minute, Hisham Mumtaz left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Atletico Beirut fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. In the 38th minute, Bassam Ghalib hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Atletico Beirut's Farid Ayham played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kadar Mazid in the 39th minute of play. Farid Ayham took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Moneer Aziz, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee felt a red card was in order, 47 minutes into the game, when Miroslaw Ogrodowicz put in a rough tackle. In a very dangerous position, a player in Atletico Beirut fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 47th minute. Penalty! Farid Ayham had in the 50thth minute some difficulties stopping Anwar Hanif's well aimed penalty as it nearly passed him on his left side, but he still managed to hold the ball.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Afşin Derem to make the kick off. After a rather tough play, Atletico Beirut's Mostafa Jabal got a free kick in the 56th minute. Farid Ayham made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Kadar Mazid in the 58th minute of play. Ubaid Basim kicked well hit freekick during the 59th minute of the match. After recieving a nice pass, Atletico Beirut's Hafiz Abou Adal tried to score from far away in the 60th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. After 62 minutes, Wakil Husam mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Atletico Beirut and the Croydon AFC players grew even worse after the yellow card. The supporters of Croydon AFC booed when Atletico Beirut was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 62 match minutes in a wonderful position. Wakil Husam didn't get a good kick on the ball. A collision led to Croydon AFC getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Anwar Hanif hit a great ball. Afşin Derem succeeded to score despite a near miss that spronge from right pole into the goal to 0-2 in the 65th playminute. In the 68th minute, Hisham Mumtaz fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Hamad Muwaffaq, passed just outside the right post. Afşin Derem sent away a hard shot on goal in the 71st minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 74 minutes into the match, Croydon AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Hisham Mumtaz came free, but Hamad Muwaffaq reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After some fancy dribbling in the 83rd minute, Afşin Derem managed to get in a good position for a shot. Atletico Beirut's supporters rose to their feet, but Afşin Derem was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Hamad Muwaffaq breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Hisham Mumtaz could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 84th minute of the match, but Hamad Muwaffaq made a huge save. A collision led to Atletico Beirut getting a freekick after 86 minutes play. Bassam Ghalib hit a great ball. Farid Ayham showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Sulaiman Fathi, who was totally free with the ball in the 87th minute. In the 91st minute Hisham Mumtaz shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Hamad Muwaffaq saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 93rd match minute, Croydon AFC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Anwar Hanif to maneuver through the defense. 97 minutes into the game, Hafiz Abou Adal was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Atletico Beirut's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Croydon AFC the free kick. The Atletico Beirut supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Atletico Beirut would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.