Friendly League

Ricardo E. Bochini
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Cyrus Velasco made the kick off which started today's match. In the 3rd match minute, INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ermegildo Neron to maneuver through the defense. When Michael Owen came up free with the goalie in the 4th minute, the Qikiqtarjuaq FC fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Michael Owen couldn't finish the play. In the 5th minute, Michael Owen made a precise shot to the right of Pepe Santoro. INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. Pepe Santoro showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cyrus Velasco, who was totally free with the ball in the 9th minute. Isaac Poncio charged in rather forcefully in the 11th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Isaac Poncio the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB's Isaac Poncio got a free kick in the 11th minute. Pepe Santoro showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Denver Grimes in the 12th minute of the match. Hilario Slaughter sent away a hard shot on goal in the 14th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Oscar Solustiano kicked well hit freekick during the 20th minute of the match. Qikiqtarjuaq FC's Michael Owen got a good chance for a goal in the 21st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cyrus Velasco in the 22nd minute of play forced INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB's goalkeeper Pepe Santoro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Pepe Santoro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cyrus Velasco, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Cyrus Velasco's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Pepe Santoro was relentless in the 26th minute of the game. When the match clock showed 28 minutes, the score became 0-2 when Cyrus Velasco sped through INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Pepe Santoro. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Michael Owen in the 31st managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Pepe Santoro saved INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB from getting behind. Qikiqtarjuaq FC's Hilario Slaughter got a good chance for a goal in the 32nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. A collision led to Qikiqtarjuaq FC getting a freekick after 34 minutes play. Cyrus Velasco hit a great ball. 35 minutes into the game, Cyrus Velasco cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-3. Pepe Santoro was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 41st minute Cyrus Velasco shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Pepe Santoro saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hilario Slaughter in the 43rd minute of play forced INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB's goalkeeper Pepe Santoro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Narciso Vergaray made a kick off. In the 52nd minute, Cyrus Velasco ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Pepe Santoro was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-4. 55 minutes into the game, Hilario Slaughter recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Pepe Santoro. Hilario Slaughter showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 0-5. When the match had gone on for 59 minutes, Cyrus Velasco took a quick shot and it went in 0-6 without a chance for Pepe Santoro to make any attempt to save it. Pepe Santoro made a fantastic save in the 66th minute, when Cyrus Velasco sent off a good shot on target. In the 68th minute, Qikiqtarjuaq FC's Hilario Slaughter ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Pepe Santoro. Pepe Santoro yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 0-7. Pepe Santoro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cyrus Velasco, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 75th minute, Cyrus Velasco left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Qikiqtarjuaq FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-8. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cyrus Velasco got free with Pepe Santoro in the 79th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After 79 played minutes INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB got a freekick which was hit by Isaac Poncio. 82 minutes into the match, Michael Owen dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Pepe Santoro, 0-9. After a defensive mix-up in INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB's zone, Cyrus Velasco stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Pepe Santoro came out of the goal and Cyrus Velasco tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 89th minute, Michael Owen reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Pepe Santoro. The goal made the score 0-10. In the 94th minute, Qikiqtarjuaq FC's Cyrus Velasco dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 0-11. Qikiqtarjuaq FC played a much better game than INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB and deserved their victory. The INDEPENDIENTE FUTBOL CLUB players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.