FAR Rabat Break Tanger Resistance in Dramatic 2-0 Win

FAR Rabat emerged 2-0 victors over Ittihad Tanger in a Botola Pro fifth-round clash that crackled with tension, a missed penalty, a red card, and two late goals that sent the Stade Moulay Hassan into raptures.

FAR Rabat’s Frustration Builds

The home side’s dominance was immediate, their 64% possession squeezing Tanger into their own half like a vice. But when Youssef Fahli Al stepped up for a 35th-minute penalty after Bilal Ouadghiri El’s yellow-card foul, the stadium stood poised for explosion — only for Fahli Al to scuff his shot wide. The groans could be heard in the Atlas Mountains.

Ittihad Tanger’s Akram El Wahabi had already been booked for a reckless 11th-minute challenge, setting the tone for a match where their defensive discipline frayed by the minute.

Ittihad Tanger’s Collapse

Just seven minutes after halftime, Gape Mohutsiwa’s studs-up lunge earned the Tanger midfielder a straight red. The visitors, now with 10 men and just 36% possession, retreated into a shell — but Rabat’s frustration grew as Abdelfettah Hadraf’s introduction failed to spark an immediate breakthrough.

The match turned at last in the 80th minute. Fahli Al, redemption burning in his chest, buried a second penalty chance to send the Rabat faithful into delirium. Then, in the 95th minute, Hadraf — the substitute who’d become the catalyst — tapped in Anas Bach’s cross to seal it, earning a yellow card for his shirt-off celebration.

What This Means

Rabat’s victory, built on 19 total shots to Tanger’s pitiful 2, cements their status as Botola Pro contenders — and breaks a three-match winless streak against their coastal rivals. For Ittihad Tanger, the reckless defending and Mohutsiwa’s dismissal will haunt them; a season that promised so much after four solid starts now threatens to unravel.

Both sides face midweek fixtures carrying very different moods: Rabat will take this momentum into their next clash, while Tanger must regroup fast before their campaign spirals.