U23 World League

Vila Belmiro
Spectators: 7711 (Terracing: 5785, Seating: 1773, VIP seats: 153) Giuseppe Jewell made the kick off and thus started the match. A collision led to Santos FC getting a freekick after 6 minutes play. Reyes Ritter hit a great ball. Ahmed Long took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Apolo Pes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 8 minutes had been played when some careless play by Santos FC's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Raúl Barberá was slow to take the kick. During this time AC 1986 Vinalito's players had a chance to rest. Raúl Barberá made a great header on AC 1986 Vinalito's corner, it was just that Santos FC's Ahmed Long managed to reach the ball for a save. In the 10th minute, Homer Diggs hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a defensive mix-up in Santos FC's zone, Raúl Barberá stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ahmed Long came out of the goal and Raúl Barberá tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 12 minutes into the game, Ezequiel Pirlo was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. AC 1986 Vinalito's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Santos FC the free kick. The supporters of Santos FC booed when AC 1986 Vinalito was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 12 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ezequiel Pirlo didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 18th minute the ball was on its way in behind Santos FC's goalkeeper Ahmed Long, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Ahmed Long made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Raúl Barberá in the 19th minute of play. 21 minutes into the match, Santos FC's goal looked a bit too open when Apolo Pes came free, but Ahmed Long reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 26th match minute, AC 1986 Vinalito was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Federico Popov to maneuver through the defense. Ahmed Long made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Apolo Pes in the 28th minute of play. Santos FC's Ahmed Long played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Apolo Pes in the 36th minute of play. When AC 1986 Vinalito's Apolo Pes in the 39th minute got a chance for a shot 39th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Santos FC's goalie prevented a goal. In the 40th minute the ball was on its way in behind Santos FC's goalkeeper Ahmed Long, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 42nd minute, Apolo Pes left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The AC 1986 Vinalito fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. Ahmed Long stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Apolo Pes's shot from short distance in the 45th minute. After the first half AC 1986 Vinalito were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

In the 57thth minute of the game Ezequiel Pirlo who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Santos FC's Ahmed Long was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 58th minute of the match AC 1986 Vinalito got a corner. Santos FC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Raúl Barberá ran over to the corner to take the kick. The audience thought a goal was coming when Apolo Pes got free with Ahmed Long in the 64th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The AC 1986 Vinalito fans' excitement grew in the 65th match minute when AC 1986 Vinalito's Apolo Pes looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Ahmed Long made an important save on a dangerous shot by Apolo Pes in the 68th minute. 70 minutes into the match, AC 1986 Vinalito's goal looked a bit too open when Giuseppe Jewell came free, but Delmiro Rosalio reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Kris Marks's late challenge caught a AC 1986 Vinalito's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Kris Marks helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Santos FC's Kris Marks got a free kick in the 72nd minute. Cosme Txilar kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. Delmiro Rosalio made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Giuseppe Jewell in the 76th minute of play. 78 minutes into the match, Apolo Pes notched a goal, 0-3, to the right of Santos FC's Ahmed Long. Ahmed Long was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. An unexpectedly hard shot by Raúl Barberá in the 85th minute of play forced Santos FC's goalkeeper Ahmed Long to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ezequiel Pirlo scored 0-4 in the 86th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Ahmed Long, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After some fancy dribbling in the 96th minute, Apolo Pes managed to get in a good position for a shot. AC 1986 Vinalito's supporters rose to their feet, but Apolo Pes was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ahmed Long breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. AC 1986 Vinalito played a much better game than Santos FC and deserved their victory. The Santos FC players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.