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CABBA MAKE ANOTHER QUICK MANAGER COMMITMENT - Mehdi Battache, The Bordj Bou Arréridj Soccer Chronicle

Never ones to waste time, CABBA already have offered and come to terms with a new manager.  This one, at least, has at least led a senior team in his career.  Kheireddine Belahmeur was announced today as CABBA's new manager.  Belahmeur led amateur squad US Madinet Aïn Beïda to a 10th place finish (staving off relegation) this season, before abruptly resigning.  Belahmeur was coy in responding to questions regarding why he suddenly resigned.  At the time, he told the locals that it was step away from the game.  Alas, his sabbatical was but 6 days before he was called back to coaching by CABBA.  At Madinet, he was seen to favour control possession, and often lined up in a defensive heavy formation, often a 4-2-3-1.  He favours creative freedom for his players, and likes to have his players mark up rather than play a more zonal defence.  Unlike CABBA, his squad did know how to protect a lead, and his push for possession football will be a relief.  it is to be seen if the players (those that choose to remain) will be able to adapt to this style.  Belahmeur will be addressing the media in the coming days.

Mercifully, CABBA Season Ends - Sid Ahmed Belheïr, Algerian Soccer Chronicle

It has been an excruciating football season for those who live in Bordj Bou Arréridj.  Where fans hoped for a mid table, marginal season they were instead rewarded with atrocious defense, anaemic offense, and a relegation to the amateur leagues.  It seemed fitting that the season ended with a sputter, a home loss to US Chaouia by a 1-3 margin.  Having conceded in the 5th minute, CABBA looked in a familiar position to dig out of an impossible hole.  Scoring after a 3-nil deficit was established, fans can perhaps take hope that the final goal of the season was in fact scored by Les Criquets.  Those goals were ever so hard to find this season, with the team posting an impressive -32 goal differential.  That total actually blew away bottom of the table NRB Touggourt for what that’s worth.

Four managers took their turn at the helm – two of them as caretakers.  With Rafik Amara’s termination after the penultimate match – having amassed an impressive 2-2-12 record, CABBA looked to assistant coach Lahouri Bouzidi to limp the team to the finish line.  Serious questions need to be risen to the Board of Directors who, though frugal, seemed content to drive the team into the Amateur Division.  Both Qamar Morceli and Amara had never managed a senior level match – and the results showed the reason for it.  In retrospect, the board ought to have stuck with caretaker manager Sofiane Bensalem, who was responsible for 3rd of the clubs victories in his 3 match stint as caretaker manager.

Blame can be shared all around for sure, and some of the players didn’t do much to further their careers.  Zakaria Ghalem, for the hype of his arrival, played uninspired for much of the season, racking up over 1,000 minutes between goals at one point.  Khaled Amara, a “seasoned” goal keeper allowed an impressive 46 goals in his 24 appearances.  Stars such as Younes Belferoum, Haroun Bordji, and Islam Rachedi combined for a pathetic 5 goals on the season combined.  The board made no effort to make it work this year, and left whomever was in charge with little chance for success.

Perhaps the best thing that happened in the season was CABBA delivering the BBA U11 championsfor the season. That brings hope since it appears those players will be taking the field with the senior team in just 4 years.  Five teenagers saw over 1,000 minutes played for the season.  It bodes well that the youth of the club received so much opportunity to see what their made of.  For some, it will likely lead to the start of a fulfilling career – for others, perhaps its time to look to spend more time on other activities.  Azzedine Derbal was likely the most disappointing of the group. His lack of maturity and defensive awareness cost the team many goals this season.  It would likely be prudent for the next manager to demote Derbal back to the U21s to hone his skill, or perhaps maybe move on all together.

The question of manager for next season has not yet been answered.  At present, the most talked about name remains Nacer Benrabah, Head of Youth Development at Ligue 1 side Paradou AC.  Again, a bit of a cheap option again being considered, someone who doesn’t have experience leading a squad of adults.  At the same time, there aren’t many adults to lead on CABBA. With the relegation, it remains to be seen whether Belferoum, Bordji, or Rachedi make a return to the squad. Likely gone is Belfreroum, the season’s captain, who has a release clause tied to relegation.  Again, it’s not like the squad couldn’t use an upgrade across the board.

We shall watch what the next month brings before the summer friendlies commence.  No one in BBA is looking forward to watching tier 3 football – but perhaps it might be the right spot for Les Criquets, and allow for the city to watch a few more wins in the next 12 months.

MATCHDAY 23

CABB ARRÉRIDJ (5-4-13, 14th)  0:2 (0:1)  MO CONSTANTINE (14-4-4, 5th)

19' - Bouhessane (MOC)

63' - Kismoun (MOC)

CABBA Return to Old Ways; Drop Points at Home - Tahar Belhaoua, Algerian Soccer Express

Two weeks to revel in a rare victory might be the only joy Les Criquets get, as their attempt to put together a winning streak was rudely crushed by 5th in the table MO Constantine.  Despite 16,000 plus at the stadium, the outcome was never really in doubt, as CABBA struggled for both possession and meaningful shots in the match.  It saddens how many players turned in subpar performances this late in the season - Antar Benyahia, Khaled Amara, Kada Bacha, Zakaria Ghalem - all looked poor.  Worst of the lot were Tarek Toumi and Abdeslam Zerrouki - neither of which looked like they belonged on any semi-professional pitch.  CABBA put just a single shot on target, and only attempted 7 throughout the match.  Possession was a dismal 42%.  To be fair, MO Constantine didn't exactly light it up, however they were content to play possession for much of the 2nd half, seldomly probing for much as the result was already a forgone conclusion.   Bouhessane's opener was not exactly magic - but a case of a confused defense that somehow lost their man.  Antar Benyahia was to blame on this one.  With so many defenders packed in the box, it was hard for Khaled Amara to see the strike, which wasn't particularly fiery.  it was a simple kick to the open side of the goal, and the score was 1-nil inside 20 minutes.  With little in the way of offensive prowess, that was about all MOC needed.  Things looked similar in the 63rd.  Azzedine Derbal was caught napping, and a give and go from Midoune allowed a sprinting Kismoun to score from 6 yards out unopposed.  There was some rightful challenge for offside - and to be frank it is likely a call missed by the referees.  Alas, the result wouldn't have changed, and so - despite pleads from the CABBA sideline, the call stood.  Bacha, Benyahia, and Haroun Bordji really needed to do better in being alert for the streaking striker.

CABBA remain in 14th, with just 7 matches to try and claw their way out of relegation spots - 12th is only 2 points away, so never say never.  CABBA will host 3rd place JS Bordj Menaïel coming to Bordj Bou Arréridj in two weeks time.  Things have been so tough lately that some of CABBA's alumni - chief among them beloved defender Abderrahmane Hachoud - who played for Cabba back in 2007 - 2010 - spoke up to say that the fans and board must give Rafik Amara more time to succeed.  Hachoud - who has appeared in 15 matches for JS Kabylie - stated that patience needed to reign supreme.  Making a rash decision to terminate yet another manager will do the players little service, and may drive some of the youth out of the program.  Hachoud of course wants nothing but for CABBA to succeed, but whether the board or supporters have the requisite patience is to be seen - most people want to put out a dumpster fire as quick as possible to remove the eye sore.  

MATCHDAY 22

NRB TOUGGOURT (2-2-17, 16th)  0:1 (0:0)  CABB ARRÉRIDJ (4-4-13, 15th)

69' - Abdeslam Zerrouki (pen)

Les Criquets End 8 Match Winless Streak - Kamel Maouche, Algerian Soccer Messenger

Young Manager Rafik Amara finally found his first victory as manager, in his ninth attempt, to end CABBA's horrendous two month spell.  Amara was hired on December 19th, with the squad at the time in 14th place following the tragic start of the previous unexperienced manager, Qasim Morceli.  Ironic, that despite the change, most CABBA supporters would relish the opportunity to return to Morceli's tenure.  Amara has put up a less than impressive 1-2-6 record in his nine matches in charge.  Alas, perhaps the common thread is not the manager, but rather what the manager has to work with.  For most of the season, CABBA has started upwards 5 young teens - those 16 and under - due to a lack of players on the squad.  One can fault neither Amara or Morceli for being dealt a roster that was lean on talent.  The recent performances of the squad hasn't helped in bolstering the talent level, as CABBA had three offers rejected in the most recent transfer window.  It is likely that the squad is going to not survive the Algerian 2nd League and most likely will be relegated into the next tier - the Division Nationale Amateur.  This might help the squad reset - expectations will be more realistic, and the squad can focus on developing these youth that have gained so much first level football this season.  It would also allow for a more plausible recruitment process, where the team can focus on finding some real talent in Bordj Bou Arréridj.  

The victory that ended the slide came away from home, at bottom dwellers NRB Touggourt a team who surprised in the Division Nationale Amateur, but clearly out matched in the 2nd league.  Touggourt has but 8 points on the season now, and are 10 points behind 15th place JSM Béjaïa.  With the bottom four teams relegated, its seems Touggourt's stay is all but finished.  There is still much to play for with respect to CABBA, as they are amonst a group of 5 teams separated by 3 points.  Three of those five will go down, but there is undoubted competition left to be had over the remaining eight match days.  The two squads from Béjaïa are both struggling, as are the two squads from Annaba.  CABBA faces two of these four squads in the final 8 matches.  

The victory for CABBA was more a stroke of playing such dismal competition, than it was a dominant victory.  Abdeslam Zerrouki returned to the starting line-up having missed 12 weeks as a result of broken ribs suffered in the match against CA Batna.  Zerrouki is far from a world class talent - he brings a ton of height, but for a striker, his first touch is clumsy and his speed is slow.  Alas, his 2.03 metres can do a lot for the team, and he understands how to sell the foul, which is exactly what happened in the second half.  Zerrouki took a tumble, and drew the penalty call.  Captain Younes Belferoum made the decision to let Zerrouki take his own penalty, and he slotted home, which was a welcome return after his injury forced sabbatical.  Content to throw away whatever leads they acquire, CABBA then returned the favour, with Kada Bacha making a terrible challenge in his own box three minutes later, earning a yellow in the process.  But here is where the talent gap with Touggourt appeared, as Mohamed Hadji telegraphed his penalty shot, and keeper Khaled Amara was able to dive left and push the ball out for a corner.  It was a rare moment of team bonding for CABBA, as the whole squad unleashed a torrent of emotion.  The match was otherwise quite a dull affair, with the teams combining for just 13 shots on goal (including two penalties).  In a rare feat, CABBA held more than 50% possession for the first time in a long time.  

As the match calendar slows in the back half of the season, CABBA now has just over two weeks to prep for their next match at home.  It will be a challenging one, as 5th place MO Constantine come to town.  Perhaps with some luck, CABBA will land a couple loans to help the team fight out of the relegation zone.  And perhaps Rafik Amara can do something with his lone victory - somehow spin that to something positive, and try and build some harmony in the clubhouse.  However, I would not hold my breath.

MATCHDAY 21

CABB ARRÉRIDJ  2:2 (1:1)  JAM BÉJAÏA

19' - Rabah Moussaoui (6th) (CABB)

42' - Khelifi (JSMB)

66' - Merabti (JSMB)

90+5' - Tarek Toumi (2ns) (CABB)

CABB Rescues Points in Last Gasp - Sid Ahmed Belkheïr, The Algerian Soccer Chronicle

What looked like another disappointing and dooming result was rescued from death with essentially the final breath of the match.  With the clock reading 94:30, teenage DM Tarek Toumi headed in a cross from Zakaria Ghalem to ensure a 2:2 draw at the Stade de 20 Août 1955.  The fans,  who have remained loyal to the team despite its terrible run, erupted in joy, as les criquets picked up a a point that still left them in 15th in the Algeria League 1 - East table.  It was an incredible windy day - with gusts exceeding 60 km/h - but an otherwise pleasant afternoon in Bordj Bou Arréridj.  CABBA opted to make some substitutions with suspensions expiring.  Disenfranchised defensive back Haroun Bordji returned to the starting XI along with teenage back Azzedine Derbal (for Naïm Hamzaoui).  Manager Amara again swapped up his striker - as the team is not set on who should fill this role regularly, opting again for teen Rabah Moussaoui.  This seemed a prophetic choice as Moussaoui was to put CABBA on the board first.  In the 19th minute on a counter attach, CABBA played the ball up the right side.  Younes Belferoum looked to make a cross but instead played a ball to Haroun Bordji at the the top of the box.  No JSM player marked Moussaoui specifically, and he was able to weave through the box and jump to head Bordji's service past JSM keeper Bouzid, and put CABBA in a rare lead

Béjaïa moved into a more solid possession game after conceding, and shortly before the half time whistle they were able to concoct an equalizer.  Billel Mirabti was able to run deep into the box and draw much defense.  He then low crossed a dangerous ball that numerous CABBA boys could have cleared.  Alas, the ball found its way in the path of a sprinting Khelifi who was one step beyond Haroun Bordji and deposited the ball in goal.  In the 66th, Béjaïa captured the lead off of a short corner.  Aymen Zerrouki made an uncontested pass into a crowded box.  Billel Mirabti one touched a shot from the pass that bounced and miraculously missed the 9 players between him and goal, and Béjaïa took a 2-1 lead with one quarter of the match remaining.  It definitely looked unlikely for CABBA, and many int he stadium assumed another opportunity would be squandered.  Alas, Toumi would grab the glory and bring some electricity back to the squad, if only for a few moments.

The match was important for both squads, as it was an opportunity for two relegation positioned clubs to pick up 3 points against a poor opponent.  Both squads failed in that endeavour.  Perhaps CABBA's best chance at another win comes in the next match where they travel back into the Sahara to play NRB Touggourt, the team sitting bottom of the table with just 2 wins and 2 draws in 21 matches.  However, Touggourt just raised eyebrows by knocking off MO Constantine 1-0 with a late strike, so in typical CABBA fashion, they come to play the worst team at a time where their spirits are high.  As we move into the back half of the calendar, the matches now begin to spread out, and it will be nearly two weeks before the next tilt.  This bodes well for CABBA, as Abdeslam Zerrouki - the 21 year old striker who has been out over two and a half months with broken ribs, should be a once again available for action.  Rumours also have it that CABBA is attempting to enter the loan market for a couple of League 1 U-21 DMs, including both 17 year old ES Sétif player Rachid Sandjak and 17 year old Paradou AC Ryad Belkeïr.  The loan market is crowded, so both home clubs will be able to be choosy on where they allow their players to go.

MATCHDAY 20

IRB OUARGLA (6-4-9, 8th)  3:0 (2:0)  CABB ARRÉRIDJ (4-3-12, 14th)

25' - Moussaoui (IRBO)

43' - Megfhour (IRBO)

50' - Meghfour (pen) (IRBO)

DESERT OASES BRINGS NO RELIEF TO CABBA'S THIRST FOR GOALS - Mehdi Bettache, The Bordj Bou Arréridj Soccer Chronicle

Ouargla has always been a fascinating place to me.  Carved out of nothing sits the Oil town of 90,000 residents hours from civilization, slapped into the far north Sahara.  600 KMs from home, I made the trek in my own vehicle for 9 hours on Friday, to be ready for another tilt for the boys of CABBA.  Despite the town's stature as an industry town, with residents with money to burn…  attending football on a Saturday is often not in the cards.  In fact, our boys had the home crowd advantage, with over 300 supporters making the arduous journey.  It is a show of commitment, as I feel they all knew they were not going to see anything poignant or exciting.  Just a meager 150 or so locals came out to support IRB Ouargla who, in all honestly, picked to finish poorly, have been having a decent go at it.  Not the same to be said for Les Criquets.  Another opportunity for many minutes for the young teenagers in defense, with Hamid Sahraoui and Naim Hamzaoui took rare starts.  Disgruntled and disenfranchised defender Haroun Bordji did not make the trip, on account of yellow card accumulation.  One wonders if that wasn't deliberate to avoid the bumpy long trip to the desert.  As usual, the youthful defense were again a bit out of their league, with Ammar Moussaoui taking the lead in the 25th, unmarked, albeit from 24 yards.  Keeper Khaled Amara was far from masterful on the gorgeous winter day - where temperatures struck 18 at kick-off.  Beyond being out of position on Moussaoui's goal, Amara was beaten on a set piece direct free kick from 26 yards by Mohamed Megfhour.  Megfhour cleared the wall of 5, but for some reason Amara left the far post unreachable, and before halftime, the boys were once again in a hole to deep to clear.  After the interval, naive Hamid Sahraoui made a foolish tackle in the box - a completely unnecessary challenge, that allowed Megfhour to easily get a brace with a penalty in the 50th minute.  Amara has now allowed 31 goals this season, to 57 saves.  Not really an impressive number, but still better than when we have our 16 year Salim Hadded between the sticks.

CABBA did announce a new U-21 head coach - Abdelghani Khellaf, who joins from filling the same role at JSM Chéraga.  To be seen if he has any gumption to take what is now a fairly seasoned group of youth, and build us a bit of a future.  Entrenched now firmly in the relegation places, CABBA now hosts fellow relegation fodder JSM Béjaïa.  Perhaps a win?  Something we have not tasted in 2 months?  Let's hope…

MATCHDAY 16

CABB ARRÉRIDJ (4-2-9, 13th)  1:3 (0:1)  IB LAKHDARIA (4-3-8, 9th)

42’ - A. Toumi (pen) (IBL)

64’ - Benkouider (IBL)

66’ - Larabi (IBL)

87’ - Abdelhamid Maouche (CAB)

CABBA ON PATH OF NO RETURN - Mehdi Bettache, The Bordj Bou Arréridj Soccer Chronicle

It has become apparent that any trip out to the Stade du 20 Août 1955 is little more than an excuse for fresh air - or an excuse to breathe in cigarette smoke.  Apparently there are still more than 16,500 rubes in this city that either think this team is going to turn it around, or 16,500 masochists who will watch this derailment of a season as a solemn duty.  I am practically at a loss for words at this point to describe what unfolds each week.  We all hoped the turn of the new year might be some sort of trigger, but alas, same lack of talent, same lack of understanding of the game, and same lack of effort.  

For some apparent reason, Rafik Amara decided to go with young back-up keeper Salim Hadded for this match.  Perhaps he wanted to avoid any thoughts of nepotism (though Khaled Amara is of no relation), or perhaps he just flipped a coin, but young Hadded - who hasn’t played since the Algerian Cup Third Round, was gifted an opportunity to throw away one of the few remaining winnable matches of the season.  Any hope that this was to be turning point evaporated upon Hadded’s nomination.  To be fair to Salim, I can’t hold him accountable for inexperience - one must play numerous matches at a high level to attain a full time starting position - and at 16, the fact that he already has four appearances in the league this year is pretty impressive.  But when you play in front of him, four of his peers, and attempt to anchor that with a increasingly frustrated Haroun Bordji (more on that later), it is something that is cruising for a disaster.  Again it was Antar Benyahia who made the foolish tackle in the box, conceding a penalty at the brink of halftime.  CABBA were playing atrocious (as per usual) and one thought we might just escape to half all square at nil, and move to repeat the earlier nil-nil draw in the first leg.  Oh no, let’s not make this easy.  The penalty was trite, easily smashed in with the toddler Hadded with little clue on tendencies or mind games.

What made it worse was CABBA’s approach this game, which appeared to be to hatchet down the attacking IB Lakhdaria team at every opportunity, committing an impressive 21 fouls in the match.  Ole!  And, as usual - though lets be frank it doesn’t really matter anymore - careless fouls are chased with cards, something both Azzedine Derbal and Youcef Haddou were able to “win” (a win is a win, right?) - and earning them a suspension for our next match due to card accumulation.  Perhaps I ought give them the benefit of the doubt - knowing our next match is away to 2nd palace Skikda (who lost their first match of the season today), missing the next game is likely prudent.  A 64th minute cross was completely whiffed on by Haroun Bordji - which is saying something as the only experienced defender, allowing Benkouider to head in past Hadded and putting the game out of reach (it was out of reach at half time!!).  Young Derbal, clearly losing his head, suavely fouled Larabi by flagrantly tripping him.  Yellow number two for the game, and an early shower for Azzedine - who was trying to make certain he didn’t have to travel to Skikda.  Down to 10, CABBA wasted less than a minute to concede their third.  A trio of subs after the red card - including Mohamed Makhlouf - an academy player getting his first minutes on the senior team - was the best Rafik Amara could summon.  Completely lost with the substitutions and position shifts, Lakhdaria went for the jugular, with Larabi bashing in.  Two goals, 3 minutes.  

Being down 3, it would be an impossibility to do anything in open play.  It had, at this point, been 305 minutes (yep, 5 hours!) since CABBA had scored from open play.  With the cataclysm of defense and goalkeeping, Amara made the only smart move of the day and subbed on goalkeeper Khaled Amara to see out the game.

THere was a minor highlight, late in the 87th minute, when Youcef Haddou sent down a through ball that poetically fell to the foot of an open Abdelhamid Maouche, who two touched and then ripped a blast into the twine for the youngsters first ever senior goal.  Too bad it was of little consequence.

After the match, the scuttlebut out of the clubhouse was that Haroun Bordji unleashed a tirade on Rafik Amara, telling him in not so delicate terms, that the team has become worse in the two weeks he has been the coach.  Bordji was upset with the change in formation, which he said was far too complicated for a group of teenagers to manage.  Younes Belferoum - who seems to be resigned the last few weeks - took Bordji’s back.  Haroun apparently demanded to be discharged in the upcoming transfer window.  So if CABBA’s supporters have anything to fear, its that the team may actually lose more talent in the coming weeks, and shun itself to the Division Nationale Amateur.

Bring on Skikda!  They only drubbed us 5-0 at home, so maybe they can go for double digits this Friday night?

Statement from Chairman of the Board, Hichem Boudiaf

It is my pleasure to announce today that the board has selected a new head coach for the CABBA criquets.  Rafik Amara will take over the position effective immediately.  We have spoken with numerous coaches throughout central Algeria over the last two weeks in an effort to align with an individual who has the leadership potential and the ambition to bring Les Criquets out of its current malaise, and set the program up for an eventual push back into League 1.  Mr. Amara may lack in experience at manage a club of this side, but his background in developing youth - as evidenced by his previous role as technical director for the youth squads in Remchi - squads that routinely competed for national titles in the U17, U15, and U13 levels - will go a long way in helping CABBA develop the many talented young players in our system.  Mr. Amara will begin his tasks on the training ground tomorrow, meeting the players and leading them in training in advance of our next home match against MC El Eulma.  I would like to thank Sofiane Bensalem for his flexibility in leading the team over the last two weeks.  It was great to see the team generate some results under his leadership and I believe in conjunction with Mr. Amara, we will have a great tandem leading our youth within the program.

Statement from Rafik Amara, Head Coach CABBA

I would like to thank Mr. Boudiaf and the board for providing me the opportunity to lead this storied club.  I have been eager to begin my journey to manage a club that plays in the top tiers of our nation.  The opportunity to come to Bordj Bour Arréridj and lead this program, one with over 90 years of history, is a great honour.  I recognize that many fans are dissatisfied with the state of the club, and its current performance on the season.  Despite my youth, I have spent my last five years building up a youth program with an emphasis on technical development, and player progression.  I am pleased to have progressed numerous players into amateur and semi-professional squads over the last few years, and I believe in focusing on technical skills and clear tactics, we will be able to stabilize and improve this program.  I will take the time to meet the team, the staff, and the supporters before any drastic changes are made.  We will have some immediate changes on the pitch, where we will begin to transition towards the style of football I prefer to play, which is based upon direct counter-attack and utilizing our wings.  This style, coupled with the programs youth, should put us in more competitive positions and enable more goals to be scored.  We will be moving away from the stale 4-4-2, and embracing a wide formation 4-3-3, with the use of a defensive midfielder playing low.  In watching the squad, I am excited for Tarek Toumi to step into this key DM role as his knowledge of the game will help us transition the counter attack.  Our team does lack some experience in the centre backs - the youth  of this team is a limitation in the fact that these players just do not have the minutes of experience to be able to make sound technical decisions.  I will work with Antar Benyahia, Azzedine Derbal, Adam Medjahed, and Naïm Hamzaoui to develop their field presence and awareness, and help them work as a unit to develop their game.  I do have my eye on the upcoming transfer window, and am looking to bolster our squad in that timeframe.  We are not quite through to the middle of the season, so we continue to have a chance to stabilize, avoid relegation, and set ourselves up for next season.  Thank you

Editorial by Mehdi Bettache, football writer for the Bordj Bou Arréridj Soccer Chronicle

It appears that CABBA have completely mailed in their future with the recent selection of Rafik Amara as the new lead of our esteemed club in this city.  After the debacle of earlier this season - the selection of a nobody named Qamar Morceli - the path to recovery is apparently the selection of a new nobody - Rafik Amara - to plunge this squad into the amateur leagues.  It was not in too distant memory where Les Criquets played in League 1 (albeit pre-COVID) and before that a decade long stint in our top division.  Now we flail about League 2, squandering opportunities against similar squads.  I fail to see the logic or reasoning behind picking a manager with zero experience twice in a row.  Lets face it - Sofian Bensalem’s two weeks of leadership brought the most interesting football we have seen this season.  Though the Round 3 defeat in the Algerian Cup was a disappointment, the squad pushed the match into extra time in the matches waning seconds.  Albeit the extra time period was a disaster, the team showed some gumption.  He followed that with two wins back to back - something we haven’t seen in a year.  Clearly, that would be too much success in too little time to merit giving Mr. Bensalem a crack and leading the squad.  As Director of the Youth Program Bensalem literally brought the same experience to the table as Amara, only with proof that he could get the team to mesh.  About the only positive of the last month is the fact that Younes Belferoum has toned down his desire to flee this squad.  That provides some hope.  But the dismal play of Zakaria Ghalem, Youcef Haddou, and the day care centre of six, 16 year old defenders, leaves this journalist skeptical that anything will change.  I regret to say it, but this squad will soon be playing Saturday afternoon games across the Sahara, challenging village squads in the amateur leagues over the next few years:

MATCHDAY 14

CABB ARRÉRIDJ  (4-2-7, 10th)  0:1 (0:1)  MC EL EULMA (7-1-5, 6th)

45’ - Geriova (MCEE)

MATCHDAY 15

US CHAOUIA (6-1-7, 7th)  3:1 (2:0)  CABB ARRÉRIDJ (4-2-8, 11th)

16’ - Ghimouz (USC)

22’ - Ghimouz (USC)

53’ - Ghimouz - Saved Penalty by Khaled Amara

84’ - Moussaoui (USC)

85’ - Rabah Moussaoui (pen) (CAB)

EDITORIAL by KAMEL MAOUCHE, ALGERIAN SOCCER MESSENGER

Well what was really to be expected over the last 10 days?  Honestly?  Yet again, we have watched 3 hours of football without a score from open play.  Yes, the boys look like they come out ready to play, but the manage to defeat themselves mentally within fifteen minutes of every match.  Shockingly 18,000+ came to see the start of the Rafik Amara era on December 23rd.  If anything was to be taken away from the day, it was that the weather was nice and it was a pleasant afternoon to spend in the stadium.  But nothing from chances, nothing from possession, and nothing from creativity.  If the goal of this new 4-3-3 is to blast the ball up field past our wingers - or if the goal was to take heavy touches that we immediately lose - than the new coach has been a rousing success.  Yes, I get he has to work with what he’s got, but I haven’t really seen the squad be to inspired to try something new.  The MC El Eulma game at least was competitive, but the aberration that was the Friday evening match in Oum El Bouahi made me wonder why I am not already watching our town’s amateur side (update - USBB Arréridj is actually a bigger disaster - winless through 15).

I fear for our town not having a single football club worth watching.  We have always looked forward to the autumn and winter, to divert ourselves with watching the local club bring the town together.  Our spectators are still loyal, but that will only last so long.  Basketball season is providing far more entertaining, and frankly, watching CR Bélouizdad chase its fifth straight championship - as boring as that is, at least provides more entertainment.  

We at least had a bright spot last match in Belferoum looking like he shows some passion again.  And Khaled Amara’s save of Ghimouz’s hattrick attempt penalty, was something to be excited for (too bad we were already two goals in the hole).  Shockingly, there is still some hope here at the middle of the season.  If our sieve defense could keep some balls away from our opponents a bit more effectively, there’s a chance we can avoid the relegation.  We sit 13th, in the last relegation spot, only on goal differential.  And the cellar teams are truly atrocious.  Let’s turn this around in our next match - IB Lakhdaria is by no means an insurmountable squad.  They sit in 9th, but with only a single point more than CABBA.  A win could catapult CABBA out of the relegation zone and as high as 8th.  It really is a testament between the haves and have nots in League 2 East.  The battle between first and 5th is separated by 4 points, and the battle from 8th to 14th is also a four point gap. 

LEAGUE MATCHDAY 13

USM ANNABA (3-4-5, 8th)  2:3 (1:2)  CABB ARRÉRIDJ (3-2-7, 14th) 

19' - Mohamed Amrane (CAB)

31' - Rabah Moussaoui (CAB)

45+1' - Boussif (USMAN)

46' - Rabah Moussaoui (pen) (CAB)

85' - Boussif (USMAN)

 The trip to Annaba is one of our longer drives, but it is a beautiful trip the reminds how wonderful the great country of Algeria is.  We wind through the mountains before approaching the Mediterranean Sea, where Annaba - just 80 km from the Tunisian border - is located.  The team was much more relaxed having gotten a much needed win in the last match.  Regrettably, with other results, it did not change our location in the Table - CABBA is still rooted in the relegation zone in 14th.  In working with such a young defense, Sofiane Bensalem has taken to making some regular shifts each match to get the players experience, but also to now overwhelm them and make them feel the full weight of the teams performance.  For this match, Azzedine Derbal was moved back to the bench in favour of Antar Benyahia, as well as sitting Adam Medjahed for Naïm Hamzaoui.  With Abdelhamid Maouche's tight hamstring, it was decided to let him play as a substitute, and Rabah Moussaoui was placed at right striker, a position he was in when Zerrouki was injured two weeks ago.  That proved to be the right move as Moussaoui played a pivotal role in the match.  

CABBA's first real opportunity came early in the 4th minute where Islam Rachedi took a direct free kick from about 40 yards out.  Rather than drop it in for a header, Rachedi took the shot directly, and hammered a very powerful blast that just skimmed over the top of the cross bar.  CABBA had come to play today.  Playing at USM Annaba is an interesting experience, as the team plays in a monstrously large stadium capable of holding close to 50,000.  THe crowd was much closer to 14,000 for the match.  The winter weather, and the proximity to the see, led to some less than ideal playing conditions; a light rain persisted and the game time temperature was not more than 7 degrees - a factor that likely kept the crowds at bay.  It would be a match rife with fouls from Annaba, in which they would pick up 25 to our 8.  The fouls were mostly professional in nature, and only one yellow card was issued to USM ANNABA.  We again struggled with possession, retaining the ball only 46%, and we conceded a painful amount of corners - 15 to our meager 3.  In the 19th minute Zakaria Ghalem took a direct about 10 yards from the box on the right side.  Ghalem delivered to a young 16 year old Mohamed Amrane who took a single touch and then blasted a very tight angle shot from the post into the opposite side of the goal.  He was exuberant in scoring his first “real goal” as he called it - to do it at such a tender age and on the roade made it that much sweeter.  In the 31st, Haroun Bordji threw in to Rachedi, who touched it back to Bordji for a one-touch cross to Younes Belferoum at the corner of the box.  Belferoum played to Youcef Haddou who put a through ball in to a moving Rabah Moussaoui.  Moussaoui shook his defender and played a near post shot from 9 yards out that Annaba could not stop, giving CABBA a 2-nil lead.  One of Annaba's many corners caused some nervousness in the 42nd, when Annaba's B. Benyahia played a snap header that was just over the bar.  it was not enough of a wake-up call for CABBA, as in the first minute of injury time, a poorly executed pass by Antar Benyahia was put right on the foot of the attacking striker 19 yards out/  The ball was then crossed and CABBA's confused and disorganized defense allowed Annaba's Boussif to run to within 12 yards of the goal and blast in a score.  Khaled Amara was beside himself with rage on the complete breakdown of coverage, and gave the boys a strong tongue lashing in the locker room.

THe boys were inspired, and we opened the 2nd half beautifully.  Some solid passing put the ball to Ghalem in the box, who deftly sold a foul that was fairly trivial.  THe referee pointed to the spot, and Moussaoui was able to put in another successful penalty kick, this one confidently into the right centre of the goal.  In the 61st, Annaba took a penalty from the left side.  The ball was headed out by the offense, who circulated for a shot at the top of the box that was slightly wide - and again not marked.  Similarly, in the 76th from the same corner, an almost identical play unfurled, again with CABBA being lucky that the shot was not on target.  Annaba would get their consolation in the 85th when Boussif took a fairly well covered shot and put it to the far right where Amara was not able to reach.  But too little, too late, and CABBA walked away with a second consecutive victory.  Returning home now, with a little bit of clout!

News on the street is that the Board has approached 32 year old Rafik Amara to take the head coaching role.  Little is known of Amara - as he has no real coaching credentials.  He strongly enjoys working with youth, but short of that seems lo lack real qualifications to lead a team of CABBA's calibre - seems like there is some other - perhaps nefarious - connection that is getting Mr. Amara an opportunity.

League Matchday 12

CABB ARRÉRIDJ (2-2-7, 14th)  2:1 (1:0)  MO BÉJAÏA (4-0-7, 11th)

45+1' - Haroun Bordji (pen) (CAB)

63' - Zaïdi (pen) (MOB)

90' - Youcef Haddou (CAB)

After the disappointing loss in the Algerian Cup, CABBA played their first home match under caretaker manager Sofiane Bensalem on a pleasant December afternoon.  Returning to the lineup was keeper Khaled Amara, centreback Azzedine Derbal (in place of Antar Benyahia) and left back Adam Medjahed in place of Naïm Hamzaoui.  The concussion of Tarek Toumi shifted Islam Rachedi back into midfield, and allowed for 16 year old Mohamed Amrane to get his debut with the senior squad.  17,522 fans were on hand to see if Les Criquets could get the season back on track.

In the 15th minute Béjaïa but together the first real chance, when a looping long ball send from midfield was met by the striker who out jumped Kada Bacha, albeit from 12 yards out.  The ensuing header was a looper, but it dropped quick, and Amara had to be quick to tip the ball over the cross bar.  No real chances ensued over the next 15 minutes until Arréridj's Bordji took a corner kick in the 32nd minute.  Youcef Haddou headed the ball which deflected off of the knee of Azzedine Derbal.  The Béjaïa keeper however, was right there to tip the ball over the bar.  On the ensuing header, taken by Farid Haddadou - replacing striker Abdelhamid Maouche in the 24th minute when he suffered a hamstring pull - the ball was swing into the box where Derbal just missed an opportunity to connect with the ball and drill it home.  A free kick in the 35th minute led to some attacking build up for Arréridj, and at one point Zakaria Ghalem had a good look between two defenders.  The shot was meek, and Béjaïa keeper Boufeneche had no trouble catching it.  In the 45th minute a corner from Bordji found Ghalem in the 6 yard box.  The cluster of players in the vicinity saw Ghalem hit the deck, and the referee blew for the penalty, to the delight of the crowd.  Bordji took the ball left as Boufeneche dove right, and Arréridj took the lead on the brink of the first half.

As the second half got under way, the first real action ensued in the 55th minute.  A Béjaïa throw in was played back and a lobbed cross was sent in that Khaled Amara outjumped Béjaïa's Hadded to capture the ball safely.  Despite Amara's long ball, Béjaïa maintained possession and eventually got the ball to Hadded again who headed just wide of the goal.  A Béjaïa free kick from the right channel in the 63rd was a recipe for disaster for Arréridj, as Younes Haddou was caleld for a fairly questionable penalty on pushing Sofiane Slimani in the box.  Zaïdi took the penalty and palced it low left.  Amara guessed correct, but his reflexes were too slow and the game was all square at 1-1.  The remainder of the half was fairly lacklustre until the 89th minute, when Amara played a ball out of the box.  Arréridj played the ball long via an Adam Medjahed kick to a sprinting Mohamed Amrane.  Amrane played the ball back to a running Younes Haddou who was completely unmarked in the box.  Haddou took a left footed one timer that rifled off his foot and left Béjaïa's keeper with no chance at all, and sent the crowd into a frenzy.  Finally, at long last, the losing streak was broken, and Arréridj took a much needed league victory.  Alas, despite the win and the three points, there was no movement for CABBA in the standing due to other results.

Fortunately, the physios reported that the injury to Abdelhamid Maouche was minimal, and the hamstring was simply tight, and not strained, so we expect Maouche to return soon.  Arréridj makes the 4 hour trip up to the coast next to take on USM Annaba, who sit in 8th in the table

ALGERIAN CUP, 3RD ROUND

E. SOUR EL-GHOZLANE  5:4 (1:0)  A.E.T.  CABB ARRÉRIDJ

5' - Gherbi (ESG) (pen)

82' - Tarek Toumi (CAB)

85' - Hachem (ESG)

90+2' - Farid Haddadou (CAB)

91' - Hachem (ESG)

97' - Hachem (ESG)

102' - Farid Haddadou (CAB)

105+2' - Belkheir (ESG)

A different atmosphere was prevalent within the team on the journey to El-Ghozlane.  As the team assembled in Bordj Bou Arréridj, an uneasy silence was apparent.  Of course, travelling mid week for a match is a bit of an anomaly so that certainly may have been a contributing factor.  The team was also fractured a bit between the adults and the teenagers.  The teens seemed excited for the road trip and to miss some schooling.  The adults were a bit apprehensive of entering a match without a full time manager.  Though it was clear that Haroun Bordji and Younes Belferoum were a bit more comfortable now that changes had been made.  As the trip progressed, the players relaxed a bit and caretaker manager Sofiane Bensalem spent a fair amount of time chatting with the groups of players.  There were to be some significant changes to the line-up, but that wasn't all too uncommon with the match being a cup match.  Firstly, with Bensalem's relationship with the youth squad, it was decided to put a fairly young squad on the pitch today.  For all intents and purposes, Bensalem was going to use this match as a competitive friendly, assessing the team's capabilities and gaps.  Salim Hadded was tabbed to start in goal.  Salim's minutes have significantly dropped off with the addition of veteran Khaled Amara; Hadded had not played a first team match in over a month.  Tarek Toumi was moved back to midfield from centre back, and Antar Benyahia returned to the starting lineup after his one match rest.  Kada Bacha was brought back in as a wing back, with Adam Medjahed moved to the bench.  Azzedine Derbal was moved back to the substitutes as well with youngster Naïm Hamzaoui earning his first start with the senior squad.  Toumi's transfer to midfield allowed for Islam Rachedi to play up as striker, a role he has filled numerous times on the season.  With Zerrouki out of the lineup for an extended time, young striker Abdelhamid Maouché would receive the start.

The opening minutes of the match showed a new found confidence within CABBA, and we looked fairly calm and collected.  However, that evaporated fairly quickly as a probing attack from ESG in the 4th minute saw them penetrate into the 6 yard box.  A fairly benign tackle by Antar Benyahia was deemed to sufficient enough to call a foul - sold a bit by the ESG striker - and a penalty was awarded promptly.  Sabri Gherbi of ESG put a confident ball into the left side of the net, and theough Salim Hadded guessed correctly, the shot had too much pace, and we fell behind early (again).  On the restart we had a valid chance in the 8th minute where a corner kick was served into a marked Younes Belferoum, who out jumped his defender on the header, but put the ball onto the cross bar rather than in.  A 16th minute header by ESG was put just out of reach of Salim Hadded, but was fortunately wide.  In the 25th minute, Haroun Bordji put in a weak cross which allowed ESG to intercept and build some momentum.  ESG had a good chance with a strike within the box, but the shot was just wide of the net.  ANother build up in the 38th minute forced Hadded to make a fingertip save over the cross bar.  At the half it was essential to make a substitution, as Kada Bacha had taken a knock to the knee and was struggling to keep pace.  Adam Medjahed was brought on at the start of the second half in his place.

The second half was again pretty dull, and we continued to struggle to maintain possession.  We did avoid any real threats to goal until the 71st minute.  ESG took a throw in that was crossed into the box.  We were lucky in that the ensuing header bounced off the right goal post.  ESG was positioned right at the post, and Antar Benyahia had to make a brilliant tackle to prevent an almost certain second goal - it was a bit of redemption for him from the early penalty.  An interception by Youcef Haddou in the 81st minute was played back to Hadded who booted a brilliant ball from the 6 yard box that sailed past most of the attacking ESG players.  The ball was landed by a sprinting Islam Rachedi, and though the ESG defense poked it off his foot, he ran the ball down into the right channel and delivered a sparkling cross to a cutting Tarek Toumi who smashed the ball into the net on one touch, his first goal for CABBA!  It looked for certain we would head to extra time, but in our euphoria, we lost sight of closing out the match.  A series of probing attacks by ESG off of a throw in found an unmarked Hachem on a gross just a metre from the goal line that was pushed accross the line in the 85th minute.  It was a very deflating concession.  Just when all hope was lost, we found a spark from a throw in to Toumi.  Toumi touched the ball back to Belferoum who delivered a picture perfect cross to a marked Farid Haddadou, another one of our youngsters.  Haddadou headed the ball into the open goal mouth in the second minute of stoppage time and we lived to play another 30 minutes of extra time!  We nearly conceded a minute later - again to a defensive gaffe - but Hadded was quick to tip the ball over the goal to concede a corner rather than a goal.  The boys were very excited - albeit tired - to take the match into extra time having scored the clutch goal. 

It was clear that at the start of extra time our boys were physically and emotionally spent.  Within the opening 40 seconds, a probing attack from ESG sliced through the defense and a through ball was deflected right to the foot of Hachem of ESG who put the ball into the near post to reestablish the ESG lead - a lead they would not relinquish.  In the 97th minute, a long ball from Hadded was taken down by ESG, who again built up an attack.  In almost a duplication of the previous goal, and unmarked Mehal was again left with options.  As the defense closed him down, Hachem was again well positioned and he scored his hat trick with an easy goal - a hattrick scored in 12 minutes of play.  Being two down in the opening 7 minutes of extra time was quite the blow.  Our boys did not immediately fold, and a series of passed but Belferoum in his favourite spot - in the right channel with a cross to an unmareked Toumi, who one touch passed to a sprinting Haddadou who scored his brace - a remarkable feet for a 16 year old who was getting his first substantial minutes of first team football.  We had an opportunity to even the score, with Toumi sending a long ball that was deadly accurate to a sprinting Rachedi.  Rachedi was 1v1 with the keeper, but he chose an inopportune shot angle that the keeper was easily able to deflect over the end line for a corner kick.  Sadly the ensuing corner kick did not bring a goal, and ESG played the ball over the touchline and resettled their defense.  We conceded once more in the 2nd minute of the first half of extra time where a series of great passes resulted in a shot from the left post.  We had one more viable chance to claw a goal back in the 119', but an open Haddou was unable to settle the ball and sent it far above the goal.

The big story for us was how bouyant Farid Haddadou was with in his first match.  He played composed after coming on in the 74th minute, and his brace - including the clutch shot to force extra time - really raised eyebrows on the team.  I can foresee Haddadou seeing more minutes as we return to league play.  Kada Bacha had a lot of ice at half time, and he had a healthy bruise on his ankle.  I don't forsee him missing any matches, but likely will take off training this upcoming Friday.  More of an issue was Tarek Toumi, who very late in the match (3rd minute of 2nd extra time period) took a collision on a header and came down hard.  THe physios recommended we pull him off immediately due to head injury concerns.  The report back is that Toumi did indeed suffer a concussion, and will likely need to sit the next 3 weeks or so to recover from that - including no training.  The injuries are starting to mount, but since the season is in a bit of tailspin, best we suffer all these lumps at once.  After returning to Bordj Bou Arréridj on Thursday, we will train on Friday evening, and then take on MO Béjaïa on Saturay aftenoon at home.  Now on a five match losing streak, I am hoping we can at least dig out a point against the side that is 11th in the table.

League Matchday 11

CA BATNA (1-4-5, 14th)  2:1 (2:0)  CABB ARRÉRIDJ (2-2-6, 13th)

33' - Boulaouidat (pen) - BATNA

38' - Beldjilali - BATNA

53' - Rabah Moussaoui (pen) - CABBA

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD - HICHEM BOUDIAF

Effective immediately upon the conclusion of the match verse CA BATNA, Qamar Morceli has been removed from his role as Head Coach of CABBA.  We pride our organization in playing competitive, entertaining football, and recognize that the path we have been down for the last 4 months was not one that could be sustained.  As the pride of Bordj Bou Arréridj's sporting culture, performances that have been witnessed over the last month are deemed unacceptable by the board.  It is an expectation that this club, 92 years strong, continues to be a competitive one, that will endeavor to fight for promotions, not struggle not avoid relegations.  For this reason we required swift and definitive decision making, and have relieved Mr. Morceli of his role.  In his place, CABBA's Head of Youth Development - Sofiane Bensalem - will take over as caretaker manager.  Mr. Bensalem is a lifetime resident of Bordj Bou Arréridj and seeks to stabilize this organization whilst we pursue a robust coachin search.  Mr. Bensalem will provide a briefing in the immediate future.  May we walk together in the journey to glory!

BRIEFING FROM CARETAKER MANAGER AND HEAD OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT - SOFIANE BENSALEM

I would like to take a moment to thank the board and chairperson Mr. Boudiaf for the opportunity to lead Les Criquets at this very pivotal moment in the clubs' history.  I appreciate the opportunity that has been granted me to lead the youth development of this program, and recognize my experience with the U21 team and the programs down to U9 - in just a few months span - positions me best to steward the team until a new head coach can be instated.  Though I appreciate Mr. Morceli's friendship, it is clear that this decision is in the best interest of both parties, and needed to be made early enough in this season so as to permit a recovery from our current state of 14th in the table - a position that places us at threat of relegation.  We have only 26 out of 31 registration spots filled, and we will look to blend the U21 team with the senior team and focus on playing attacking football, based upon crossing and playing down the flanks.  I will be supported by assistant coach Lahouari Bouzidi, General Manager Lyes Benamara, and Technical Director Younes Yahiaoui in supporting our players in reaching their potential.  There will be no changes to the staff in my interim leadership.  

We have 19 league matches remaining to right this ship, and maintain our position in League 2 for next campaign.  In order to focus on the players and ensure they have the opportunity to reach their potential, I have made the decision to remove four players from the senior squad who have not taken any role in the matches to date.  I want to thank these individuals for their service, and for their support in practice, and wish them all the success in their future football careers.  Departing the team will be winger Abdelaziz Madi, winger Mourad Mahsas, attacking midfielder Adel Sahraoui, and winger Abdennour Meziane.  The fact of the matter is these players are not of the calibre CABBA needs, and were taking up registration slots that prevent our youth from getting meaningful practice and game minutes.

We do have the talent to be competitive in this league, though we strongly lack the experience and maturity of some of our competition.  As evidenced by our lack of a goal from open play over the last 4.5 hours of football - and our inability to retain possession of the ball, we will move back to offensive fundamentals in practice.  I have spoken with Younes Belferoum about his discontent, and I believe we need to listen to him as a locker room leader in searching for more depth on this team.  I am concerned the previous tenure may have soured his CABBA experience, and that he may look for a transfer in the January window.  I will do what I can to assuage his concerns and keep him as the leader of this squad.  Likewise, I know that both Haroun Bordji who anchors our defense and Islam Rachedi carry important voices in the locker room as well, and we will lean on their talent to mentor our younger players.  

I do have some unfortunate news to share as well.  Abdeslam Zerrouki was substituted in the 27th minute of the match for a reason.  The collision he endured has resulted in a significant injury.  Mr Zerrouki has some fractured ribs, and will likely miss up to four months with the squad.  This will leave us paper thin up front in striker position, which will make it all the more important to focus on ball movement, possession, and earning genuine chances.  Lastly, I would like to commend young 16 year old Rabah Moussaoui on his first even senior team goal - a finely struck penalty.  I applaud his courage to accept that assignment having missed a penalty in a similar situation two months back in our second match of the season.

We do have a short week with the Algerian Cup 3rd round upon us this Wednesday.  We will travel on Tuesday evening to Sour El-Ghozane and prepare for this match.  It will be good to take the focus off of the League table, and bring ourselves to play a cup match and look to progress on to later stages in the Algerian cup.  Thank you for your support and I look forward in supporting the team in this caretaker role until a permanent solution is found.

League Matchday 10

CABB ARRÉRIDJ (2-2-5, 12th)  0:1 (0:0)  RC ARBAÂ (8-1-0, 2nd)

84' - Mostefaoui (RCA)

It was a gorgeous late November day in Bordj Bou Arréridj - a sunny 19 degrees that made me feel like today was the day we could squeak out an upset.  We were going to have to do it without Abdeslam Zerrouki, who had to sit due to a yellow card accumulation.  I also felt today was a day to give Azzedine Derbal a day off as he had been playing most every match so far this season.  Adam Medjahed took Derbal's space at left back, and I brought in U-21 16 year old Abdelhamid Maouche to play up top with fellow teen Rabah Moussaoui.

Things got tense early again.  In the 6th minute Boubakar or Arbaâ broke free and bashed one in the net, only for the linesman to have called offsides by a fraction.  We dodged an early score. In the first 9 matches, we conceded in the opening 10 minutes in five of them.  In the 17th minute RCA put a free kick into the box that rattled around amongst a congested pack of players.  Mostefaoui cracked a shot that deflected off of two players an eventually the post, ricocheting over the end line.  The ensuing corner was taken short, and Zakaria Ghalem clobbered the Arbaâ player conceding a direct kick.  This we deflected with a header over the end line again, setting up a corner from the opposite side of the field.  We headed out the inswinger, but right into the left channel where a cross was put in that looked menacing.  Khaled Amara jumped and grabbed hold to settle down the attack.  Less than a minute later, in the 20th, we conceded a free kick from 24 yards out that clattered into the wall and to a wide open Zaoui, who basked it in.  Fortunately Zaoui was flagrantly offsides, and so we picked the ball out of the net for the second time without conceding.  From that goal kick we put together our first real attach, with Younes Belferoum delivering a beautiful cross to an open Abdelhamid Maouche.  Regretfully, he was a yard from the goalie he smothered Maouche's shot.  We ahd another attempt in the 23rd when Haroun Bordji had a good look, only to be blocked.  We entered the locker room all square at nil.

In the 50th, we conceded a corner, which RCA defender Djoghma just headed over the crossbar.  We struggled for possession most of the half, and threatened very little.  In the 77th, off of an RCA throw in RCA's Boubakar took a shot that deflected right to RCA striker Sais, who turned an unlucky smashed it off the left post, where Bordji blasted it up field.  Our concession came int he 84th off a poor clearance into the right channel, which RCA crossed in.  Djoghma gave a short deflected pass to a wide open Mostefaoui who buried it into the net, crushing our hopes for a nil-nil draw.  Things only got worse in the 91st, where a through ball from midfield found RCA striker Dadache wide open, with the closest defender five yards away.  Dadache botched the attempt and sent it wide of the left post, which was a blunder for sure.

We have now lost 3 in a row, and sit 13th in the table in the first relegation spot.  It was a difficult 3 game stretch against the leagues top teams.  On a positive, I was able to let defender Naïm Hamzaoui get his first minutes on the top team, when I substituted him on in the 73' for Maouche.  Hamzaoui is also a young 16 - our team of youth might make wins hard to come by, but the boys are getting some great experience early.  On a more pessimistic note, Rabah Moussaoui, who was playing in his 6th match for the senior squad, continues to struggle to take chances or find the net.  I recognize his youth isn't helping him, but 10 hours without a goal is not doing much for his confidence.  He ahs been playing steadily in the U21 side, and he has put 2 goals in from 16 matches there.  We finally get to play someone of our calibre, with our next match against CA Batna, who is right below is in 14th with 1 win and four draws.  Batna lies 3 hours to the Southeast, on the edge of the Sahara.  Of note, their starting striker Younes Belhadj will be sitting this one on account of a red card earned last match.

League Matchday 9

JS BORDJ MENAIEL (7-0-1, 4th)  3:0 (1:0)  CAB Arréridj (2-2-4, 12th)

7' - Remache (JSBM)

54'' - Sahbi (JSBM)

77' - Sahbi (JSBM)

I contemplated what I could change to get a little more offence going.  It is clear Islam Rachedi is more comfortable in midfield than up top, and so I moved him further back in the formation in favour of U21 striker Rabah Moussaoui.  Rabah has not played with the senior team for a couple weeks, so I figured we could put him into the front.  It is so very difficult to juggle so many young players - ones that should still be playing in the youth side.

The game started auspiciously enough with Abdeslam Zerrouki picking up a yellow card within two minutes.  This card - his 3rd of the campaign - will force him to the bench next match with a suspension.  Regardless, in the 6th minute Zerrouki did some great ball work in the box, faking out a couple players in pushing into the 6 yard box.  I regret he wouldn't shoot, but he did slot a pass to a wide open Younes Belferoum who attempted a low angle shot and regretfully sent it just wide of the goal.  A minute later we conceded our first, where JSBM ran a well executed throw in and then crossed into a poorly marked Remache.  Remache headed off the crossbar, but recovered the looping rebound whilst our boys stood flat footed.  It was a simple goal to put us on our back foot inside 10 minutes.  We had another scare in the 18th minute where a long ball was played to the goal line, and JSBM put it back near the 10 yard marker.  Ghimouz of JSBM was unlucky to blast it over the cross bar. We has a great breakaway in the 20th minute, with Zerrouki getting a throughball just past the midline.  He sprinted at let loose a cracker that the JSBM keeper tipped white and off the post.  That would be our last bonafide chance.  We let a dangerous direct free kick opportunity in the 23rd minute, and Remache took it and wrapped it around the wall and off the post.  The match continued to unfold dreary for us, with our defense again letting down its guard in the second half.  I fear the lads have no real inspiration at this point, though we are not yet amongst the relegation teams.  We have yet another tough match against 2nd place RC Arbaa next Saturday, this time at home.  I can envision a third straight loss against a top tier club.  

League Matchday 8

MO Constantine (6-1-0, 1st)  3:2 (1:0)  CAB Arréridj (2-2-3, 9th)

19' - Feham (MOC)

61' - Belaribi (MOC)

64' - H. Bordji (og) 

83' - Youcef Haddou (CAB)

90+1' - Abdeslam Zerrouki (pen)

The scoreline for this road match is a bit misleading.  We definitely were taken to the sword by the league leaders on a wet cool evening in Constantine.  It was an incredibly disappointing game from our defenders and goaltender, who looked mismatched from the opening whistle.  The opening goal came off a set piece, where we committed a suspect foul 24 yards out.  Despite a five man wall, Constantine's Feham hit a rocket of a shot that bent around the wall and buried into the upper left corner.  We did manage to frustrate Constantine in open play, and up until the half it looked like we'd have a chance to perhaps even things up or at least keep the score down.  We were playing consistent, but we were under pressure for the entire half.  In the 60th minute, our error was not pressuring the midfield, and though we were marking the pass, we allowed Belaribi to dribble right up to the top of the box, where he took a rifling shot.  I was a bit disappointed by keeper Khaled Ahmed on the play, as the shot was absolutely stoppable, but his reflexes were very slow and he dove when he should have stood put.  Even at that point, I felt we good still maintain or dignity, but 3 minutes later off of a corner, we again looked disorganized.    Felham but a corner in the box that Abdeslam Zerrouki headed back towards the touchline, but it was quickly collected at put to the top of the box. Our boys were all clumped together leaving an open alley.  Haroun Bordji put his leg high to try and kick the ball but instead he deflected it into the open goal mouth for a 3 goal deficit.

Constantine took the foot off the throttle at that point.  We did put together a nice play in the 83rd, when Younes Belferoum in the right channel outran the defender and crossed in beautiful ball that Youcef Haddou ran up on to confidently head in for his first CABBA goal of his career.  Then, in stoppage time, Zakaria Ghalem took a throw in inside the box, and turned towards net.  A sloppy slide tackle took him out, and awarded us a penalty.  Abdeslam Zerrouki took the penalty, and lackadaisically kicked it into the left side low.  it skipped before hitting  the back of the net, and the keeper, who guessed wrong, just narrowly missed on the recovery.  I was quite displeased with the effort on that.  It was a quiet ride back to Arreridj as the boys seemed defeated.  Not putting a shot on goal until the 83rd minute was very frustrating, and being outshot 16 to 4 is not going to get it done.  I didn't expect points on the road against the top team, but I hate getting dominated.  Things don't look much brighter as we head to Bordj Menaïl, who sit fourth in the table.  The match will be next Saturday.

League Matchday 7

CABB Arréridj (1-2-3, 12th)  2:0 (2:0)  NRB Touggourt (1-0-5, 15th)

9' - Abdeslam Zerrouki (pen)

31' - Antar Benyahia

Well it wasn't exactly expected to be much of a match.  A crowd of 19,769 were on hand for us to grab our first home victory of the season.  It was not much of a contest, and to be frank, I don't see any way that NRB Touggourt survives the league this year.  We're a pretty piss poor team, and they made us look great.  We didn't even concede a shot until the 60th minute, and Touggourt didn't find any on goal!  I assumed it was going to be a good night to give some understudies a chance.  After three straight games in net since coming aboard, I gave Khaled Amara the afternoon off and put Salim Hadded back in net.  Salim didn't really have to do much most of the game besides tracking down optimistic through balls or making a few jumping catches.  He controlled the game well, and I could tell he was appreciative to get some minutes for the first time in a month.  We also gave 16 year old Abdelhamid Maouche his first ever start with Les Criquets, giving Rabah Moussaoui the night off.  Abdelhamid played the perfect foil to the Touggourt plan by drawing a foul on the ball in the box.  Abdeslam Zerrouki stepped up to deliver the penalty, and he calmly placed it to the keepers right while the keeper dove left.  Twenty minutes later, Antar Benyahia - our centre back - picked up his second goal of the season on a set piece from five yads outside the box.  Younes Haddou found Benyahia about 10 yards out.  Benyahia blasted with all his might and though the keeper got both hands on it, it was all he could do to slow it down.  Our possession was dominant, and we finally let up about an hour in - giving Touggourt some attempts and a handful of corners.  The second half was dreary to say the least.  We now will head to 1st Place MO Constantine for our next tilt, a friday night under the lights match.  

 Though the transfer window is still 3 months out, I have set my eyes on a striker - 27 year old Redouane Saadi of UsM Cheraga.  Redouane is a very determined striker, with very good finishing and an above average work rate.  He is local to Cheraga and is playing in the amateur league.  He clearly isn't going to be the next Zidane at that age, but he might have some fun playing in front of 20,000 fans instead of just a couple hundred.  He would be a great mentor for Maouche, Zerrouki, and Moussaoui.  We shall see what we can do between now and then to woo him our way.

League Matchday 6

JSM Béjaïa  (1-2-2, 11th)  1:1 (1:1)  CABB Arréridj (1-1-3, 13th)

8' - Zerrouki (JSMB)

43' - Zakaria Ghalem (CAB)

A cool and wet afternoon up on the Mediterranean cost brought us a single point on the road.  In fact, through 6 matches, the only points we have earned have come away from home.  A raucous crowd of almost 21,000 was on hand for what would be a fairly important match for both teams with respect to whether they can distance themselves from the relegation based teams.  Normally, I would be happy with a draw on the road, but we really missed a golden opportunity to take all three points.  Early in the 8th minute, Béjaïa was pushed into the corner by Azzedine Derbal.  The winger made a turn and lofted a cross into the box.  Béjaïa striker Zerrouki, covered by both Tarek Toumi and Kada Bacha, volleyed the ball into the lower left of the box for a very pretty goal.  I thought this would be a portent for the match progressed, however there was some defensive blunders by Béjaïa, in that their defensive midfielder picked up two yellows within 3 mintues, and in the 35th minute we picked up a man advantage for the rest of the day.

Our offensive and defense exploited the man advantage as the match progressed, owning most of the possession and peppering the defense with threatening postures.  Right prior to half, Zakaria Ghalem pulled us level with his 3rd goal of the campaign.  Youcef Haddou played a brilliant throughball to Zakaria on the left side of the box.  Ghalem raced with the keeper to the ball, with Zakaria just putting a toe on it as the keeper was sliding in to bury it in the goal.  The disappointment was from a ton of low value shots towards the Béjaïa net.  We played 12 balls towards the goal with little in terms of challenge.  Abdeslam Zerrouki really disappointed, as with the one man advantage I really figured we would exploit his height.  He did not generate a single chance on the afternoon.  Whereas Ghalem - in addition to his goal - was constantly engaged in the attack, and looked his hardest to pick up the brace.  All said and done, a point away is still the expectation, and we are fortunate to have grabbed it.  Had it been 11v11 all match, assuredly we would not have looked as positive.  We not sit in 12th with a 1-2-3 record and a GD of -7.  Our next match is at home against NRB Touggourt, who is 1-0-5 in the campaign, in 15th on goal differential.  It is a must win, and our best chance to please our supporters!

Matchday 5

CABB ARRERIDJ  2:3 (0:2)  IRB OUARGLA

21' - Meghfour (pen) [IRBO]

45' - Meghfour (pen) [IRBO]

66' - Abdeslam Zerrouki (2nd) [CAB]

90+1' - Mansouri [IRBO]

90+2' - Younes Belferoum (1st) [CAB]

It was a very deflating evening for me, and a challenging next couple days taking in that match.  After our away victory, I was really pumped for a home match and an opportunity for the supporters to celebrate, and for the first 15' it looked again like we were going to take control of the match.  I was very impressed with new keeper Khaled Amara's presence on the field.  But youth is prone to mistakes, and our children do not yet have the experience to not fall prone to foolish errors.  in the 21st minute Antar Benyahia made a dubious and ill timed tackle attempt in the box.  Ouargla for sure sold the foul, and the referee was quick to point to the stop.  The pk was a weakly hit ball, and Amara even guessed correctly, but his over zealousness in the dive allowed for the pk to go in.  I figured it would be ok, lets get back to our plan and get it back.  The score took some wind out of our sales, and we struggled more with passing and possession.  I figured we'd make the half with a one goal deficit but for the second time this season Azzedine Derbal picked up a handball call in the box.  I honestly didn't see it, but the crowd sure wasn't pleased with the call.  Meghfour was much more decisive with his penalty, and Amara had no shot.  Down 2-0 at the half, the supporters let me hear it.

We had a strong locker talk, and the boys looked fairly confident we could get back into this match.  Brilliance struck in the 66th minute when Zakaria Ghalem ran down a long ball right to the edge of the goal line and looped a beautiful, athletic cross into the box where our 200+ cm striker Abdeslam Zerrouki easily dunked it in.  Ouargla was quite started by the goal, expecting neither Ghalem to chase down the ball nor do anything acrobatic with it.  That fired up the boys, and the crowd, and we brought full pressure for the closing 20 minutes.  We had a couple real chances but failed to find the shot, and a huge scare in the 86th when Ouargla cracked a shot from 26 yards off the cross bar.  Our fate was sealed in injury time when an awkwardly timed long ball became a race between Amara and the Ouargla striker.  Amara managed to get a foot on it, but the contact was not clean and the ball looped to the AML.  Amara turned to spring back to position, but the Ouargla player was alert enough to chip from 20 yards and Amara couldn't move fast enough to slap it off line.  Albeit, from the restart we were able to push quickly to get the retort in the next minute, where again Ghalem threaded the needle to a much unawares Ouargla defense and Younes Belferoum was able to slot a tight angle shot into an open goal mouth.  But the time and the previous goal was against us, and Ouargla was not going to give up the three points, passing and wasting time for the remaining four minutes of extra time.

Ghalem was absolutely the strongest player of the game, and rightfully won the player of the match award despite the losing effort.  But again, the number of poor performances turned in was our undoing - ultimately Amara's foolish gamble was what sealed the fate.  Derbal's second conceded handball for a penalty did not impress me, nor did Youcef Haddou's inability to control the ball in the midfield.  We sit firmly in 13th place now, one sixth of the way into the season.  I do think we have the talent to pull out of this spell of poor form, but it will come down to how much heart the boys can put in to salvage a season from a one way path to relegation.  We will head back to the Mediterranean coast - though a much shorter drive - to Bejaia to face JSM Bejaia.  The squad is 1-2-2 and in 11th, having just narrowly beating doormat NRB Touggart on the road 1-0.  JSM is one of two teams in Bejaia so we will make the trip to this town at least once more this season.

Some serious drama at training the other day before our trip to Annaba.  Younes Belferoum's frustrations boiled over with respect to the depth of the club.  There were two days before the close of the transfer window, and I admit that with the constraints of our finances we were not having much luck.  He was fairly animated about the glaring weakness we have in goal scoring prowess - relying on a 15 year old Rabah Moussaoi and 21 year old Abdeslam Zerrouki.  Zerrouki brings tremendous height at 2.03 metres, but he is woefully clumsy and slow on the ball.  I didn't appreciate the public display - especially from the captain - but I really didn't appreciate him talking after training and regretfully the media caught wind.  As mentioned, our club has a ravenous supporters group, and it was stress I didn't need.  Haroun Bordji also came to Belferoum's side, and now we have some open animosity in the squad.  I did try mightily to find a solid striker.  I put out 6 offers in the closing days, and despite the promise of copious first team football, our financial situation and our reputation kept them all away.  

I was, however, able to pick up some help in goal, by offering and signing RC Kouba back-up keeper Khaled Amara.  We say Amara play against us for a half in the friendly series.  He is a 25 year old from Meftah - just outside Algers - but he wasn't seeing too many minutes for Kouba.  He is above average in punching, and is a bit eccentric in his keeper tendencies.  However, his reflexes, agility, and fitness were all strong plusses.  We agreed to a 2 year contract - for a fairly paltry 185,000 dinar per year, but seeing as he was playing for appearance fees only, he found the opportunity worth taking.  Salim Hadded will move to second choice keeper, and will pick up the majority of his match minutes for the U-21s.  As mentioned, he's 16, so he got a taste of real competition, and it will do him well for his future development.

Matchday 4

HAMRA ANNABA (1-1-1, 9th)  0:2 (0:1)  CABB ARRERIDJ (0-1-2, 16th)

24' - Antar Benyahia (CAB)

88' - Zakaria Ghalem (CAB)

Bestill my heart, a victory from a fairly dominant match.  we held the lion's share of possession in the match and had a phenomenal pass completion rating.  We managed 6 shots on goal off of 14 attempts, verses Annaba's 1 from 5.  Perhaps Belferoum's tantrum was internal motivation for him - either to find a new team in the next window or because he was simply pissed with looking like trash.  We put our new keeper Amara in goal, and he played very well, earning the clean sheet with his one save and with good ball movement that comes from his maturity.  We also put Tarek Toumi in at left centre back for Kada Bacha.  Altogether, the back line of Bordji, Benyahia, Toumi, and Medjahed played very stifling defense, and make strong passes to permit our possession.  Antar Benyahia became our team's youngest ever goal scorer, and became our first scorer of the season.  THe play came from a set piece set up just inside the half line, where Younes Haddou looped a long ball into the box.  A couple of pinball headers put the ball at Antar's foot, and he blasted a right footer into the box from 7 yards out.  Our team played solidly for the ensuing 50 minutes, not giving Annaba much to work with.  As we were bleeding out the closing minutes of a 1-0 victory, a late throw in found Younes Haddou again, who right footed a cross the width of the box to find a poorly marked Zakaria Ghalem who headed simply into the left of the goal.  It was Ghalem's second goal in competitive play, have put one in during the 2nd round cup match.

Spirits were definitely lifted in the locker room afterwards, but Benferoum was still decidedly cold with me.  The win catapulted us into 12th place, where our horrible goal difference classified us last amongst the four point teams.  We return home with hopes of giving our fans a bit more to hope for as we take on Saharan club IRB Ouargla, a team also sitting on 4 points.  Our fans again travelled well with us - 400 of the estimated crowd of 2,300 - and they made a lot of noise.  If we continue that type of performance against our peer semi-professional clubs, I have every confidence we won't be worried about a trip down to the amateur leagues next season….but so much football still to play!

LEAGUE, MATCHDAY 3

CABB ARRERIDJ  0:3 (0:2)  AS AIN M'LILA

6' - El Mammeri (AM)

26' - Bououden (AM)

86' - Meftah (pen) (AM)

It is going to be hard to win without taking shots - of this I am sure.  4 shots, 2 on target - two of those shots came in 2nd half inhury time.  70' with one shot on target - and though it was a great chance that was fortunate to be blocked, it was an overall lackadaisical effort.  It does not help that Ain M'Lila is a professional club - the second we've come up against.  It also does not help that we are so young, with 4 16 and under in our starting 11.  Adam Medjahed got the start over Azzedine Derbal - having completed his red card suspension.  Not a single player worth writing home about - and some dismal play by both Islam Rachedi and Rabah Moussaoui.

The 6th minute concession was embarassing.  Salim Hadded launched a drop kick down field that AS Ain headed 20 yards back towards the box.  Both Antar Benyahia and Kada Bacha were clueless on who was going to catch El Mammeri who was streaking down the field.  the ball dropped between the two of them, and El Mammeri simply picked it up, took a dribble, and blasted it past Hadded.  I guess thats the price for a 15 year old and 16 year old playing centre back!  THe second goal was a bit of luck.  A direct free kick from 27 yards was well blocked by our wall, but Bououden was placed perfectly for the ricochet, and unleashed a missle into the top right corner.

Most of the remainder of the march was AS Ain playing keep away.  I watched the boys morale collapse - they showed very little interest in pressuring or even running down long balls.  I pulled Medjahed in the 82' for Azzedine Derbal - who looked a bit refreshed to not have to play as many minutes.  Regrettably, on a corner into the box, Azzedine got his hands above his head and smacked the ball, leading to an immediate yellow card and a penalty.  Meftah cooly blasted one right, and though Hadded guessed right, there was no chance.

We are now three matches into league, yet to score, and have conceded 8.  Yes, we are firmly in last place (16th to be exact) with a goal differential 6 worse than 15th.  I knew this was going to be a project.  Our fans in Arreridj are fanatical for the team, and 20,000+ showed again - but they might have seen enough to realzie this team is super young and building.  I expect to see attendance slide.  I think if we can find some ambition and momentum we don't ahve to resign ourselves to relgation after three matches…but that will require Younes Belferoum to take leadership in the locker room.

We head next to Annaba, a four hour drive east to the Mediterranean shore, to play Hamra Annaba Club Sportif, 8th in the league, 1-1-1. 

ALGERIAN CUP, ROUND 2

CABB ARRERIDJ   3:1(2:0)  MC SAIDA

12' - Zakaria Ghalem (CAB)

33' - Abdeslam Zerrouki (CAB)

61' - Boussaid (MCS)

81' - MCS Own Goal (CAB)

I did not carry high expectations into the match given our recent form as well as the 7+ hour bus ride to Saida.  I told the boys before the match that the cup games are important to me.  I know we will struggle in league, but we get a shot for a one and done match only a few times a season, and asked that we try and outpunch our reputation and win a right to play a top tier squad.  MC Saida is in League 2 West - so not an opponent we come across often.  There was a fairly sizeable crown north of 11,000 in Saida's farily cramped stadium - only two sides have stands, adjacent to one another - the other two sides are simply a plaster wall and fence.  It was nice that he had over 250 of our own supporters nestled away in the corner. 

THe boys game out to play.  For the second straight match, Abdeslam Zerrouki picked up an early yellow card.  We have been talking about his aggression, and how he spoils his ability to use it so fast playing on yellow much of the match.  Our first goal came off a throw-in; Younes Belferoum curled in a beautiful cross from the right channel to a marked Zakaria Ghalem.  Ghalem simply out jumped the defender and headed down into the left corner of the goal.  We contineud to play fairly physically, and Rabah Moussaoui picked up a yellow in the 21st.  In the 33rd Belferoum was chasing down the same right channel from the half line.  He again fired a cross - this time a low skidder - that MC Saida got a slight foot to deflect…right into the path of a sprinting Zerrouki, who one timed it into the the lower left - the keeper had no shot.  At the half we held a 2-nil lead and the boys were pretty fired up in the locker room.

We opened the second half with some solid possession,  however in the 61st Kada Bacha badly read a looping long ball and lost site of his man.  It was an unopposed goal for Saida, as Salim Hadded was left stranded in goal.  Pressure mounted as Saida picked up momentum.  Towards the closing 20 minutes, we had resettled possession and played to keep the ball.  Our 81st minute goal was a 2 on 1 with Haddou a single player to beat.  Rather than pass down to Moussaoui, Haddou kept the ball, and the defender cut the angle.  Haddou put enough mustard on it to allow the defender to deflect the ball right into the net.  We held a 3-1 lead, and saw out extra time without much more event.  

We will now have 2 months before our next cup game.  We head home for a short turnaround with 3rd Place AS AIN M'Lila coming to town.

We had a bit more additional good news in that Islam Rachedi signed a two year contract extension that will see him through with the team until the end of July 2025.  As a regular and solid player on our team, I am super pleased with his commitment!

League Match Day 2

IB LAKHDARIA (1-0-0, 5th)  0:0  CABB ARRERIDJ (0-0-1, 15th)

180 minutes without a goal.  Oh boy, are we in for a season.  I actually don't know who is more unfortunate to come away with the draw.  Lakhdaria was the far more prolific team on the day.  In the 3rd minute Lakhdaria missed a point blank wide open shot, ricocheting off the right post.  A 5th minute corner that we took short resulted in Younes Belferoum drawing a foul in the box - a questionable call to say the least.  We opted to put our super young striker - 15 year old Rabah Moussaoui on the spot.  Despite his age, he seemed very confident…up until the point of taking the kick.  Moussaoui took a chip shot to the upper right, but it clattered off the cross bar for nought.  On the ensuing throw in, after coughing up possession, Lakhdaria took the ball coast to coast - in an attempt to exploit our deflated morale, and cracked a shot right off the cross bar.  In the span of 6 minutes, two woodwork shots and a missed penalty.  From there the game calmed down.  The remainder of the half was dreary, and we entered the half scoreless.

I brough Adam Medjahed on for Azzedine Derbal in the 56th minute.  Adam waited a whopping 14 seconds to pick up a yellow card on a rough shove.  Tragically in the 80th, Medjahed fouled again and was sent off, leaving us to play the final 10 minutes and 5 minutes of extra time down a man.  It was a harrowing 15 minutes and we walked away with a single point from an otherwise uninspiring match.

Medjahed was handed down a one match suspension for his lack of control, and will miss our next league match against AS AIN M'Lila.  League 1 manager Rui Almeida of JS Kabylie was present, most likely with his eye on Tarek Toumi, who he has been eyeing for a bit.  Also, the offers keep coming in for Abdelaziz Madi, but he continues to turn them down stating CABBA is where he sees himself for the future.

Next up is the Algerian Cup - the second round.  We will face a long road trip to play MC Saida of the League 2 West.

League Match Day 1

CABB ARRERIDJ  0:5 (0:3)  JSM SKIKDA

4' - Taffni (SKI)

13' - Bouchareb (SKI)

19' - Ladouri (SKI)

73' - Kada Bacha (OG) (SKI)

89' - Remita (SKI)

That banging noise after the opening whistle was CAAB Arreridj's anchor bouncing off the cellar of the Algerian League 2 - East.  We fell to the bottom of the league without a blink.  It was a humiliating defeat.  It's ont thing if he had just been promoted, but we made Skikda look like Real Madrid - in the second league no less.  THe team put in a poor performance, netting us a poor results, and there are no shortage of mistakes to explore in game film.  I'm not yet ready to change our tactic or approach.  Though an atrocious start, it is far from the time to throw away what I know is right.  We could not put a single shot on goal, and in fact didn't have an attempt at all until after the 60th minute.  I won't expect to see that from this team again - nothing but speculative through balls or oversent long balls with no hope of an attacking threat.  The disappointment to the career start is definitely there.  After the embarrassment, it is no surprise the supporters are already rumbling.  We had a crowd of just under 21,000 attend to watch that debacle.  Worst performer of all was U21 central defender Adam Medjahed who put in an absolute abysmal performance…though not a soul impressed today.  On the flip side, Skikda looked like world beaters, in particular attacking midfielder Amine Aissa El Bey.  Two 15 year olds started today - making them the co-youngest players in club history - Azzedine Derbal and Tarek Toumi.  And they looked like children amongst men.  If anything, this will build some character and experience with them.  We are off to IB Lakhdaria next Saturday.  They won today as well and put 3 past NRB Touggourt.  

In other news, that same IB Lakhdaria offered Younnes Hadou prior to the match.  Younes opted to decline - I'm just glad he made his decision before the match.  ESM Kolea is looking at Abdelaziz Madi as well right now.

I need to go to bed and hope to wake up from the nightmare!

Injury Strikes

Our already thin team received a blow a few days ago when central defender Abdelkader Benamara suffered a sports hernia in training.  Head physio Laid Slimani broken the news to me after practice when Abdelkader came to see him complaining of a very painful mid section.  It was thought to have occured when running down an errant long ball as we worked through defensive transition pieces.  Benamara though he had pulled a muscle, but Slimani told him straight.  Its likely a 4 to 6 week injury - the worst of which means very limited mobility for the first 10 days or so, and then 3 to 5 weeks of physio.  Abdelkader has spectacular natural fitness, so I am optimistic he will be on the short end of that prognosis.

Other news saw IB Lakhdaria approach midifelder Youcef Haddou for a free transfer.  I know Youcef is happy here, but I also know he makes decisions rapidly, so if he is going to move he'll decide before we kick off in two days time. Lakhdaria is our second match date of the season, so that could get interesting.

With the season upon us, the season previews have been finalized.  We are not picked to perform well, but we are expected to dodge the relegation realm.  We are picked 12th out of 16… the last four getting relegated.  We will likely be in a battle all year.  Recently relegated RC Arbaa are the odds on favourites to return to the premier league, with AS Ain M'lila and JSM Skikda picked for the promotion playoffs in the East division.  We open at home against Skikda this Saturday.

Mid September News

It has been a pretty quiet week or so.  Not much movement on the recruiting front for us - nobody has really sparked much intrigue, and I'm thinking we'll go into the season with most of what we have.  A big decision point in that was Abdeslam Zerrouki's decision to reject all oh his offers and stay as our main striker option.  I wish we had more depth there, but with only a week or so before the season starting, I don't fathom anyone will make much of a difference at this point.  Our training has been very solid of late, and I feel we will be ready to be competitive this season.  Abdelaziz Madi also rejected his offers and is looking set to come up to the senior squad full time.  Our U-21 squad is now 5 games into the season, so I've had an opportunity to watch some of them.  They are 2-2-1 and 9th in the table.  Among the strong performers include M/AM (R) Mohamed Benyahia, Defender Azzedine Derbal, and Centre Back Kada Bacha - all of whom I used during the round of friendlies.  Also showing promise is Abdelhamid Maouche, striker, who has performed well in the minutes played.

Not long before the matches start to count.  We are close to being as ready as we're going to be!

Early September Transfer Window

Good news in the fact that we have locked down Younes Belferoum for the next two seasons, with Younes agreeing to a two year contract worth 805.000 Dinar a year.  As a semi-professional team, we aren't able to offer much to many, but this will make Younes the top paid player in our squad.  This makes for a challenging League as we have 3 full professional teams in our Eastern Division, and 13 semi-professional teams.  

Over the last week Abdelaziz Madi - a winger who has recently aged out of the U-21 squad - was approached by AB Chelghoum Laid, however Abdelaziz indicated he would rather stay here at CABBA.  He was definitely flattered by the interest!  

The other player gathering a bunch of interest is Abdeslam Zerrouki - our lone remaining striker.  He has been approached by two League 2 - West clubs for an amateur contract, similar to what he is on here with CABBA.  Both WA Boufarik and A. Bou Saada have indicated interest.  Abdeslam told me he is content playing for CABBA, and is a bit pressured by the interest in him.  Again - all the minutes are here for the taking!

Late August Transfer Market News

Not a great couple of weeks news to report.  First off we offered 20 year old attacking midfielder Adel Soltani an opportunity to join our team as an amateur.  Soltani plays for MO Bejaia, but as struggling for playing time there.  Alas, Soltani opted to stay put.  A shame given that two days later Younes Belhadj our striker who scored a pair of goals in the firendly series let me know he was moving on, joining league 2 East club CA Batna.  THis will definitely be some hurt, as we are running lean on striker talent now, without much in the pipeline of offers.  Lastly, goaltender Ahmed Talbi. who I had hoped would be Hadded's back up this season announced his departure to join IB Lakhdaria.  Thinks are looking tough this season - looks like a lot of U-21 minutes will be available on the first team.  Still about 3 weeks to fill some roles before the season starts!

Mid August Transfer Market News

So a lot of action over the last week plus.  Let's start with new offers to our existing players

Offers for CABB Arerridj Players

• Ahmed Talbi - 24 year old Reserve goaltender - after rejecting the offer of CR Village Moussa, League 2 team IB Lakhdaria has made an amateur offer to Ahmed.  Also, USBB Arreridj, an amateur squad, has also offered.  Ahmed has aged out of the U-21 team, and we need to decide whether to call him up to the First Team for good as a backup to Salim Hadded.  Talbi had an offer from CRB El Mila, but he has turned them down.
• Younes Belhadj - 18 year old striker - Younes has been offered by League 2 West club WA Boufarik who are desperate for a striker. I have advised Younes playing time will not be an issue here.
• Abdeslam Zerrouki - 21 year old striker - Abdeslam had an offer from JSM Bejia, but he has rejected that change, telling me he is content to stay here

Offers to players 

• Sofian Belhadj - 24 year old goalkeeper - Sofiane opted to remain at USF Setif and was not interested in moving to Arerridj.  With this news, it seems like Ahmed Talbi may need to be our reserve keeper.

New Offers to Players

• Ali Messaoudi - 22 Year Old Centre Back - MSP Batna - Ali is an intriguing player who is very aggressive on the ball.  He seems to have very good balance, jumping reach, and natural fitness.  In talking with him, he is inspired to develop and is determined to commit to football as a priority.

New Signings

• My very first new signing!  We have had a commitment from Zakaria Ghalem, a 22 year old winger from Blida.  Zakaria will likely be a regular starter for us on the left wing.  He brings some very solid physical skills such as natural fitness, agility, and pace.  He brings good aggression and dribbling skills to the team as well.  Zakaria has signed a 2 year contract with us.  I am excited to add some new talent!

FRIENDLY - CABB ARRERIDJ 1:1 (1:1)  ES BEN AKOUN

3' - SAADI (ESBA)

21' - YOUNES BELFEROUM (CABB)

With a conceded goal in the first 3 minutes, I was very concern we were going to be in for a long evening.  We had a very healthy 7,000 fans turn out for our final friendly against ES Ben Akoun, a fellow 2nd division team (though of the Western Division).  To be honest, other than being unmarked, the first goal was a low probability shot, put in from a very small angle through a lot of traffic.  The boys settled down pretty quickly after that, and like the match before, we bled the air out of the ball with solid defending and pushing the ball up the field.  Our goal came from an attack and cross, where midfielder Hicham Zouaoui crossed the ball into the box and striker Abdelsalem Zerrouki headed it down to the foot of Younes Belhadj.  Belhadj flicked the ball up to Younes Belferoum, who was less than a yard away, who bashed the ball off a volley into the net.  

The second half was a dirgey affair, with very little activity.  Another match with not a lot of productive shots, 3 for us on goal, and only 2 from ES Ben Akoun.  Possession was dead even, and our passing performance was ok - it left a bit to be desired.  Belferoum was player of the match, but the match was not much to write home about.  Antar Benyahia, Islam Rachedi, and Tarek Toumi all disappointed me in their play today.  This was our first match in a 4-4-2; it definitely did not get us any additional offence.

Abdelaziz Madi has opted not to head with Hamza Bensalem to CR Village Moussa.  There are some other squads rumoured to be interested in him, but I don't think they are too serious.  Likewise, Youcef Haddou indicated to E. Sour El-Ghozlane that he was not interested.

We now have about six weeks without a match to prep for the start of the season.  We will host JSM Skikda on the 23rd of September.  May we get our rest and find some additional support on the transfermarket over the coming few weeks.

Some actions have been taken on making some offers to potential new Criquets!  First, we share some of news of a departure, which while never pleasant, is part of the game.  After much soul searching, Hamza Bensalem has chosen to depart CABB Arreridj to get on with his life.  He told me he didn't forsee a long term future in football, and that he needs to get on with his family and career desires.  He opted to depart to CR Village Moussa where he will be able to have fun playing regular first team football that isn't too serious.  We wish him well on his career.  I only saw him play minutes in our last match against Telghma, and he performed ok so I am not too concerned on his departure.  He would have spent most of his team in our reserve squad.

I have gone and made 3 offers for free transfers to bolster our depth a bit.

Sofiane Belhadj - GK - 24 years old - Currently on roster with amateur squad USM Setif, we approached Sofiane to join our squad as an amateur, with the intent of helping him develop his career.  At 24, he likely is not headed to global fame, but he is a very determined player, and this opportunity would challenge him against tougher competition.  I like his tendency to rush out of the net to cut off attacks - I've always valued that approach from a keeper.  He's also got a good punch, is agile, and has decent jumping reach.  

Akim Moussaoui - D(C) - 21 years old  - Currently on an appearance based contract with fellow 2nd League East squad US Chaouia.  By all reports he is an above average tackler, who plays well in a team.  He carries solid balance and is keen on being a good athlete and practices fitness as a hobby.  He has quite a bit of other offers on the table, so might be a longshot to woo him to Arreridj, including an offer from 1st tier side US Souf.

Zakaria Ghalem - M/AM(L) - 22 years old - Currently playing amateur ball with USM Blida, Zakaria peaked my interest with his physical abilities.  The match I observed him in he played with good pace, had strong conditioning, stayed on his feet well, and changed direction effectively.  Again, another amateur offer, but I am not certain how keen he is to commit to football, despite his physical attributes.  Our fellow League 2 East club IB Lakhdaria has also offered him an amateur contract, and he hasn't been quick to jump on it.

I also received word that League 2 club JSM Bejaia has made an amateur offer to striker Abdeslam Zerrouki.  He told me he gets anxious with the thought of leaving the team, but it will come down to the minutes available.  I advised him that though we have been giving Younes Belhadj a lot of match time in these friendlies at striker, I believe Abdeslam will have plenty of opportunity.  I am toying with moving to a more simpler 4-4-2 wing play formation for the season, which will put more minutes available for strikers.