Challenge

Estadio Monumental
Spectators: 39 (Terracing: 30, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Toni Mauzer kicked off to start the match. In the 3rd minute, Croatia's Damir Pongrac seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Damir Pongrac the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Croatia protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Damir Pongrac had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 3rd minute of the game. One of Croatia:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of River Plate:s goal. Ilija Skugor made an important save on a dangerous shot by Hector Virila in the 11th minute. Toni Mauzer hit a great freekick 11 minutes into the match. After a rather tough play, River Plate's Bernardino Tanio got a free kick in the 15th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jimeno Montae in the 18th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Ilija Skugor to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Silvio Ponce kicked well hit freekick during the 20th minute of the match. Ilija Skugor took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Jimeno Montae, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Bernardino Tanio during the 24th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Croatia booed when River Plate was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 24 match minutes in a wonderful position. Bernardino Tanio didn't get a good kick on the ball. River Plate's Anier Benvide played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Toni Mauzer in the 25th minute of play. Dinko Stankovic recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 26th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Croatia's Ilija Skugor played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Hector Virila in the 28th minute of play. Anier Eusko could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 31st minute of the match, but Ilija Skugor made a huge save. Anier Benvide showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Martin Bosak, who was totally free with the ball in the 33rd minute. In the 35th minute Jimeno Montae shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ilija Skugor saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ilija Skugor was a little too slow when Hector Virila got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 37th minute. The score was now 2-0. In the 42nd minute, Martin Bosak left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Croatia fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-1. 46 minutes into the match, Anier Eusko dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Ilija Skugor, 3-1. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Jimeno Montae to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Neven Culina reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Anier Benvide. The goal made the score 3-2. 57 minutes into the match, Dinko Stankovic had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Anier Benvide. River Plate's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Dinko Stankovic was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-3. In the 63rd minute, Croatia's Toni Mauzer ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Anier Benvide. Anier Benvide yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 3-4. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Anier Eusko in the 66th minute of play. Anier Benvide showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Toni Mauzer, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. Anier Benvide took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Martin Bosak, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 71 minutes into the match, Desiderio Fagildo had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ilija Skugor. Croatia's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Desiderio Fagildo was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-4. In the 74th minute Jimeno Montae shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ilija Skugor saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jimeno Montae in the 74th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Ilija Skugor to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Anier Benvide showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Toni Mauzer, who was totally free with the ball in the 76th minute. Ilija Skugor took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Hector Virila, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Anier Eusko in the 79th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Ilija Skugor to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Anastasio Jenaro recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 80th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 82nd minute Toni Mauzer shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Anier Benvide saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 85th minute of the match Silvio Ponce shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Ilija Skugor showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Ilija Skugor took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Anier Eusko, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 87 minutes into the game, River Plate's Hector Virila nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Ilija Skugor made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 5-4. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Hector Virila in the 91st minute of play. River Plate's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.