Honours even as Jawhara and Stepney meet in Moroccan showdown

Jawhara FC 2-2 Stepney FC
Emdad Rahman

Members of Stepney Football Club, who are visiting Morocco as part of a cultural and football tour, locked horns with Lareche-based Jawhara FC in a friendly match at the Campo Hasaniya.

In a high spirited game, Stepney used the full width of the pitch and made the early exchanges count as Jahed Khan stole in to give the visitors a deserved lead after an assist from wing back Toklisur Rahman.

The visitors were dealt a blow on 25 minutes as stalwart right-sided centre back Russell Choudhury left the field of play with a hamstring injury, and within minutes Jawhara were level. Spurred on by a vociferous home support, the hosts pegged the scores back to 1-1 courtesy of an intricate finish from Mounir Sibari. Five minutes later the home pressure paid dividends with another goal, as Ismail Ben Allal stole in to beat Shamimuz Zaman in the Stepney FC goal.

Stepney to their credit did not panic and with the sun beating down the east London based team resorted to a slower paced game. Three minutes before half time Rahman fed Mufi Uddin in the penalty area who skipped past Hicham El Bourji in the Jowhara goal to level at 2-2.

The second half was a cagey affair and with the afternoon heat rising both teams resorted to a counter attacking system. The game finished 2-2. Stepney presented Jawhara manager Said Watani with a club pennant and a commemorative glass piece.

Watani said: “We thank Stepney FC for their visit to our city and it has been a great pleasure playing them today. Both teams played in the correct spirit and we now have a unique and positive bond with the United Kingdom which we are very proud of.”

Stepney FC manager Forhan Uddin said: “I’m very pleased with the outcome today. On a footballing note, the draw was a fair result. On behalf of Stepney FC I would like to thank our hosts for their tremendous hospitality.”

Tharik Hussain of Stepney was named man of the match by opposition manager Wattani. He added: “It’s been a competitive yet thoroughly enjoyable game. Both sets of players are ambassadors for their respective teams. It’s an honour to be named man of the match and I am very happy to accept this award on behalf of our club.”

 

TEAM LINE UPS

Jawhara FC
Hicham El Bourji, Mourad Taheri, Soufiane Harkouss, Moustafa Chakout, Said El Mrini, Mohamed Taheri, Zakariaa Chograni, Mohamed Bensar, Mounir Sibari, Youssef Boufounass, Ismail Ben Allal, Rochdi Ensser, Mounir Ben Hamed, Otman Tadini.

Stepney FC
Mujibur Rahman, Harun Rashid, Forhan Uddin, Shamimuz Zaman, Mufi Uddin, Russell Choudhury, Ruku Sultan, Dillon Lennon, Rachid Chibou, Syed Abu Akrom, Toklisur Rahman, Mustafa Shahid, Heron Ahmed, Jahed Khan, Amin Choudhury, Zaheer Saleh, Tharik Hussain, Afazul Hoque, Emdad Rahman.

 

[Adverts]