The-Shot.Net Writers Club - Morocco

Jan 31 1700 GMT Morocco - Benin 4:0 (final score)

Before the match
-After Nigeria beat South Africa,there will be no formal qualification or elimination before the final group match. Nevertheless the match is important.
If Morocco win, they will only need a draw or a loss with a small margin in their final match against South Africa. They will seek goal difference if they can decide this match early.
But Benin will seek a surprise to enhance their more or less realistic prospects

1st half
-Benin in white with red stockings, Morocco in all green. Benin with Oumar Tchomogo.
-('5) Morocco dominate and have a first opportunity by #13 who shoots wide from 10 meters
-the players from Benin are under contract all over the world, from Ghana to Israel, from Switzerland to France, although not in clubs with big names and rarely in 1st division teams
-the Beninoise concentrate on shutting down the Moroccan game. It is doubtful, they can achieve this goal for 90 minutes.
-and a typical goal against debutants:
-('17) A free kick cross, the Benin keeper misses it, and #17 Chammakh finds it easy to put the ball into the deserted goal - 1:0
-Benin is listed with less than 6 Million inhabitants, their league is meaningless in international comparison. Anyway Guinea, Burkina Faso and Mali have only little more population. Maybe the football tradition in benin will grow in the future.
-A lot of midfield action meanwhile on the pitch
-('27) Moroccan striker talent Zairi has a tough day so far against the physically strong Benin defenders. On the other hand Moroccan #11 Yaccoubi finds himself unmarked in the penalty area but makes the wrong decision in attempting to pass on
-'27-'35 Morocco dominate, try to attack, but only get dangerous once when the Benin defenders leave their attackers unmarked
-('37) Benin: Latoundji with an artistic volley from 16 meters, spectacular, but no big threat to the Moroccan keeper
-the match is a bit more balanced
-('42) Benin: a half chance as Tchomogo delivers a false compromise between shot and low cross from the right
-('44) Benin gift Zairi with an opportunity but he is stopped by a defender, the rebound leads to a cross which is headed wide. Benin try a counter attack but waste the good situation by terrible passing.

halftime 1:0
Morocco dominant, but have to wait for Beninoise mistakes to allow them chances. Benin yet incapable to play out chances themselves, as the Moroccan defenders can not be forced to mistakes on their side.

2nd half
-('48) Morocco: Hadji comes on as a substitute
-('51) Latoundji gets a free kick from 20 meters, half right. The wall seems too close, but Tchomogo is able to fire a good shot on target anyway. The Moroccan keeper makes a flying save with his fists.
-('54) Morocco: a half chance, a header from 16 meters by Chammakh, over the bar
-Benin had achieved to neutralise the match in the beginning of the second half but now morocco gear up
-('55)('56) Morocco: three half chances from crosses, eventually defended successfully
-('57) on the opposite site Benin are allowed make a harmless header after a free kick cross
-'57-'65 the match is back to midfield play with the two neutralising each other.
-Benin are quite well in one on one, but their passing game is letting them down eventually.
-('72) the Benin keeper in trouble when defendeing a Mokhtari cross from the right. Mokhtari had come on as a substitute
-('73) Morocco understand the signal and Mokhtari delivers a sharp corner close in front of the goal. It is more or less an own goal by the keeper who fumbles the ball onto the body of some player from where it bounces across the line - 2:0
-('75) a typical landslide, benin demoralised, Morocco attack euphorically, the keeper faces three attackers and it is #4 Abdeslam Ouaddah who blasts the rebound into the net - 3:0
-it is visible, how relieved the Moroccan players are, including the keeper, who makes a showcase flight fro a cross
-('79) the Benin keeper makes an odd looking misjudgement facing a 30 meter free kick by El Karkouri which comes bouncing right onto the middle of the goal. But he has jumped somewhere else and it bounces on into the net - 4:0
-('83) Morocco continue to torment the keeper with attemps from all angles and all distances
-both teams keen to score, Benin want to score a goal in this tournament, and the Moroccan players attack in number, they want to add more, score one themselves. But no clearcut chances

final score 4:0
A typical fate of many debutants (remember Sierra Leone, Namibia). Conceding easy goals make matches an uphill task, too much to stage a surprise. Benin a long time made life hard for Morocco, who had difficulties to make the match by themselves.
Scoring so many goals was important for Morocco who can now afford to lose against South Africa by three goals and would still qualify.