Annaba remain on top despite Day 11 loss

2009-11-01

Algeria's D1 week-end matches were marked by surprise defeats at the top of the table.

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers – 01/11/09

[File] JSK Chairman Moh Cherif Hannachi exchanged bitter words in the press with coach Jean-Christian Lang over recent defeats.

Algerian D1 football league leaders USM Annaba and second-placed MC Algiers both lost their Day 11 matches over the week-end.

Annaba, who had climbed to the top after a run of nine straight wins, were stopped in their tracks 3-0 by MC El Eulma. MC Algiers, meanwhile, suffered a 3-1 drubbing by WA Tlemcen to end their 2-week lock on second place with 20 points.

A rash of wins brings WAT up to the number 2 spot, alongside MCA. MC Oran are fourth with 19 points after a 2-1 victory over USM El Harrach.

In Bejaia, JSMB scored a 2-1 win against NA Hussein Dey, bringing them to fifth place with 17 points.

JS Kabylie, meanwhile, faltered again, losing 1-0 to CR Belouizdad. The Kabyles usually come away from matches in Algiers with at least a draw; this latest failure could put further strain on relations between club chairman Moh Cherif Hannachi and manager Jean-Christian Lang.

The win prompted CRB chairman Mahfoud Kerbadj to reconsider his pledge to resign after the previous day's 5-0 loss.

"I have gone back on my decision to resign and have responded favourably to the appeal made by the players and fans of the club," he said. "I announced my resignation in a moment of anger. Our supporters and the players insisted I go back on my decision, and that’s what I've done. I will do all I can to ensure that the team makes a strong comeback over the next few days."

In the JSK camp, the pressure on Coach Lang mounted after the team's latest defeat. A number of players joined Chairman Moh Cherif Hannachi in calling for the Frenchman's resignation.

Commenting on the match, Hannachi said luck wasn't on the Kabyles' side. On the matter of Lang's fate, however, he remained silent. "I can't talk about that right now," he told reporters. "I'd rather wait a bit longer."

The chairman was more forthright in the Sunday (November 1st) edition of newspaper Le Buteur, where he rebuked Lang in no uncertain terms: "If you have character, you pack up and go home", said the publication's headline.

Lang continues his work as JSK manager, however, in the absence of an official decision to sack him. "We should behave like all self-respecting major clubs," he said. "We met around a table to sign the recruitment contract; we should do the same thing to terminate it."

"Like any chairman of a club as prestigious as JSK, Hannachi should tell me himself and not via the press," the coach concluded.

ES Setif also tasted disappointment, settling for a 1-1 draw with ASO Chlef.

USM Algiers, who faced USM Blida at home, notched up a predictable 1-0 win.

The away wins included a surprising 1-0 victory for CABBA over MSP Batna and a 1-0 success for CA Batna against AS Khroub.