Challenge

Ciudad de Batán
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Acácio Nogueira started the match with the kick off. Ni Le Zheng showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gustaaf Groeneveldt, who was totally free with the ball in the 5th minute. If Acácio Nogueira had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Acácio Nogueira in the 8th minute of play forced Netherlands's goalkeeper Arnout Reekers to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a little luck, Netherlands's Arnout Reekers got control of the ball when Cristoforo Di Ruscio tried to sneak it across the goal line. A throw-in in the 12th minute of the game was made by Kees Mooiweer with David Eikelkamp as target, who quickly passed the ball forward. Netherlands's attentive Kees Mooiweer managed to snatch the ball when José Carlos da Silveira made a throw-in in the 15th minute of the game. Acácio Nogueira succeeded to score despite a near miss that spronge from right pole into the goal to 1-0 in the 19th playminute. Ni Le Zheng took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Egbert Nijveldt made in the 25th minute of the game a fairly good throw-in which was taken care of by Lars Meesters. 29 minutes into the match, Netherlands's goal looked a bit too open when Acácio Nogueira came free, but Arnout Reekers reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ni Le Zheng took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Wim Wilmes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 35 minutes into the game, Wim Wilmes cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Ni Le Zheng was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Cristo Serapio kicked well hit freekick during the 43rd minute of the match. In the 46th minute Acácio Nogueira shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arnout Reekers saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Netherlands's Arnout Reekers played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Acácio Nogueira in the 47th minute of play. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Gijsbert ter Kruimer to make the kick off. Ni Le Zheng was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Wim Wilmes showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 1-2 in the 52 minute of play. Ni Le Zheng made a fantastic save in the 55th minute, when Gustaaf Groeneveldt sent off a good shot on target. Arnout Reekers didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Acácio Nogueira went, in the 56th minute, to the upper right corner, 2-2 was the resulting score. Gustaaf Groeneveldt received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 62nd minute. Ni Le Zheng tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 65th minute, Netherlands's Wim Wilmes dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 2-3. Lars Meesters kicked well hit freekick during the 68th minute of the match. In the 71st minute, Acácio Nogueira left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The AC Batán fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-3. In the 75th minute Acácio Nogueira shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arnout Reekers saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. AC Batán made a substitution. Ladislao Muc replaced Acácio Nogueira. In the 78th minute, Lars Meesters had to be helped off the field due to a pulled leg muscle. When Angelo Orlondon fell near the penalty area in the 78th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored AC Batán's protests and gave Angelo Orlondon a yellow card for diving instead. Netherlands's Sijmen Clous was substituted for Lars Meesters. The supporters of Netherlands booed when AC Batán was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 79 match minutes in a wonderful position. Angelo Orlondon didn't get a good kick on the ball. Sijmen Clous took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 80th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Ni Le Zheng. AC Batán's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. The Netherlands fans' excitement grew in the 85th match minute when Netherlands's Sijmen Clous 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 3-4 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. AC Batán's Ni Le Zheng played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 88th minute of play. Gijsbert ter Kruimer was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 94th minute. Netherlands's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. When the match was over Netherlands could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than AC Batán throughout the match.