Témouchent Stuns Home Side to Break Into Top Four

The upset arrived with surgical precision at Stade Omar Benhaddad, where CR Témouchent dismantled the script and delivered a statement victory that reverberates through Algeria's Ligue 2. In a match that promised little in the way of goalmouth action but delivered everything in tactical intrigue, the visitors claimed a 1-0 triumph that catapulted them into the promotion race while leaving RC Kouba to grapple with the fragility of their fortress.

This was supposed to be Kouba's afternoon for redemption. Coming off a deflating 2-1 defeat at CRB Adrar just four days prior—their first loss in five matches—the home side had every incentive to reassert their credentials. The numbers painted them as favorites: an unblemished home record through three matches this season, zero goals conceded at Omar Benhaddad, and the weight of expectation from supporters who had watched their side collect seven points from nine on familiar turf.

But football respects preparation more than presumption, and Témouchent arrived armed with a game plan that transformed their away form—already pristine with two victories from two—into a weapon. Where Kouba sought to dictate tempo, the visitors absorbed pressure with disciplined defensive shape. Where the hosts probed for openings through their attacking third, Témouchent's backline remained impenetrable, extending their remarkable streak of not conceding a single goal on the road this campaign.

The decisive moment arrived with clinical efficiency, though the specifics of the goal remain shrouded in the match's tight confines. What matters is this: Témouchent found the breakthrough that had eluded both sides through what analysts had predicted would be a low-scoring affair. The visitors' xG of just 0.5 suggested they would need to maximize limited opportunities, and they did precisely that, converting when it mattered most while Kouba's 2.5 expected goals dissolved into frustration.

The defeat carries particular sting for RC Kouba because it exposed the limits of their recent resurgence. Their