Tanzania 1-1 Algeria – More of a relief than a disappointment

September 3rd, 2011 | by: Kazi | Comments Off

The scoreline would suggest it was a simple re-run of the Blida game last year, but you’d be mistaken.

First thing’s first, as usual we’ll start with the player ratings:

• M’Bolhi – 7/10 : A shaky first half up to the goal which was partly to blame for completely missing the cross after getting across in time, but came into his own from then on, pulling off numerous match-saving catches and stops.
• Mesbah – 8/10 : Made only 2 mistakes in letting his man get past him, the first leading to the goal, but was his usual impeccable self from then on, creating and partaking in superb plays on the left hand side that ravaged the Tanzanian defence throughout the second half.
• Bougherra – 4/10 : Not assured at all, looked unfit and was very slow in returning to defence or even catching up to his marked man. Not a reassuring performance who after his move to Qatar is shooting himself in both feet.
• Bouzid – 5/10 : Solid game, was unfortunate not to score that powering header in the second half.
• Laïfaoui – 4/10 : Very edgy performance at right back. Was beaten by his man all too many times and his marking was beyond poor. A cause for the conceded goal. Mostefa looks like he would have been the better choice.
• Lacen – 7/10 : Tireless, rugged, consistent and always firm in a tackle. Lacen was his usual collected self running endlessly to retrieve the ball then spread it upfield. A game he most definitely can be happy with.
• Medjani – 4/10 : Completely invisible in the first half, did nothing worth mentioning. Correctly subbed off in the second for Yebda.
• Belhadj – 3/10 : Wasting possession, running into balls in midflight, crosses too far out or too close to the keeper, leaving the ball behind. Not a good day for Belhadj. Was made to look useless by Bouazza in the second half and in his competition for Mesbah’s place….well….Mesbah stayed on the pitch and he didn’t.
• Ziani – 7/10 : Came to exuberant life in the second half orchestrating brilliant plays along the left wing with Bouazza, Mesbah and Benyamina. First half was stop start but was more than made up for by his second one. Lord knows why he was subbed off…
• Matmour – 5/10 : Better than Belhadj but still wasn’t great, got into good positions occasionally but was very wasteful. More often than not he could have put in Benyamina for a killer blow. One feels that in the second half a replacement with Meghni would have been more successful.
• Benyamina – 6/10 : Was extremely lively and attentive to the game, even when he wasn’t involved for long parts in the first half. Got the assist for the goal with his help-on header. Linked up beautifully on several occasions on the left wing. Had supply been better he could have scored more than the one disallowed goal.

Substitutes:
• Bouazza – 7/10 : A major improvement on Belhadj culminating in a well finished goal not long after coming on. Was very quick and sharp and the teamwork on the left hand side was vastly improved thanks to him. He’s merited his place in the NT now but not as a starter. If the Ivory Coast match and this match are anything to go by, he’s better off as an impact sub.
• Yebda – 5/10 : Far more effective and far more apparent than Medjani. Shored up the right side and helped a struggling Laïfaoui out in defence. His timing of the ball needed to be better though, not factoring in the fact his teammates had been out in the heat for longer than he was.
• Ghezzal – 4/10 : Despite the number 4, it was one of Ghezzal’s better days at the office, but still wasn’t great. When he replaced Ziani towards the end of the match, the team’s play visibly died down, and became more erratic. Had he put more effort into weighting the ball to Benyamina he would have surely got an assist. Ruined the last chance of the match by stalling and readjusting himself whereas a first time cut in to galloping Benyamina would have opened the opposition wide up. Hopefully he’ll improve upon this.

So once again, the top performers in the team turn out to be the top performers in all of the Algeria outings since the World Cup, Mesbah, M’Bolhi and Lacen, 3 things Saadane definitely got right during his reign.

As for the Gulf movers, only Ziani showed any real improvement upon his last appearance and looked fit and up for the match. Belhadj and Bougherra were lacklustre and many fans today were pointing towards the exit door for them. Hopefully Yahia was watching properly and knows he cannot go the same way.

But the best contributor to the team today was by far the Manager Vahid Halilhodzic. Given the limited amount of time since joining and the broken team he found when he joined, he’s done a wonderful job in turning them into a team that works cohesively as a unit, and deserved the win today. He was running up and down the touchline making sure everyone was doing their job. The only question mark remains the final substitution otherwise a few tweaks here and there and then he can properly go about rebuilding the NT into a properly good side for the 2013 ACN Qualifiers. We were simply all over the opposition today for most of the second half and for good periods of the first half. The second half however was when we really came to life. Tiredness was indeed a factor but that didn’t stop the team’s good pasing game till the last gasp chance. Ziani looked in his element today and seemed delighted to be swooping around clipping one touch passes here and there, and he genuinely took the mantle of captain by the horns.

Whilst the result wasn’t what we hoped for, considering the circumstances, it’s a far better first game in charge than our last manager had, both with regards to the result and with the play. And even though our run in the ACN qualifiers is all but over with only the very merest of hopes of qualifying, I am looking forward to see how we improve over our next few matches.