League

Hitchin
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Hitchin's Masoud Abdul Qadir 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. Habib Al Harith showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Masoud Abdul Qadir in the 3rd minute of the match. After 5 played minutes Norbury United got a freekick which was hit by Nour al Din Abou Zaki. In the 6th minute, Anwar Ghanim had to be helped off the field due to a pulled leg muscle. Hitchin made a substitution. Ammar Abou Fakr replaced Anwar Ghanim. In the 7th minute, Safa El Ouafi hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Ammar Abou Fakr was extremely unlucky when he, in the 8th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. Ammar Abou Fakr could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 9th minute of the match, but Habib Al Harith made a huge save. Yousef Al Tayyib made a great header on Hitchin's corner, it was just that Norbury United's Habib Al Harith managed to reach the ball for a save. Ammar Adas could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 12th minute of the match, but Habib Al Harith made a huge save. When Masoud Abdul Qadir came up free with the goalie in the 14th minute, the Hitchin 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 Masoud Abdul Qadir couldn't finish the play. After 19 played minutes Hitchin got a freekick which was hit by Yousef Al Tayyib. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Masoud Abdul Qadir in the 25th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Habib Al Harith prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After a rather tough play, Hitchin's Amir Mumtaz got a free kick in the 34th minute. Hitchin's Talib Ghanim played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Fatih Bahir in the 41st minute of play. Nour al Din Abou Zaki fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 45th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Talib Ghanim having to interfere. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Nazim Maalem was the one to do the kick off. In the 51st minute, Nazim Maalem left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Norbury United fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. Ammar Adas hit a great freekick 56 minutes into the match. Fatih Bahir came free with the goalkeeper in the 59th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Talib Ghanim could save by the left post. An unexpectedly hard shot by Saer Labib in the 60th minute of play forced Hitchin's goalkeeper Talib Ghanim to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Safa El Ouafi got his second yellow card in the match during the 65th minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. In the 66th minute, Safa El Ouafi hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Nazim Maalem sent away a hard shot on goal in the 75th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After having played for 77 minutes, Nazim Maalem managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Norbury United's supporters crossed their fingers, but Nazim Maalem was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Talib Ghanim made an important save on a dangerous shot by Nazim Maalem in the 79th minute. In the 81st minute Ammar Adas shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Habib Al Harith saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 86 played minutes Norbury United got a freekick which was hit by Azmi Tawfiq. Habib Al Harith took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Qazim Qudamah, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Norbury United walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.