League Play-Off

Playa Hermosa Rosaba
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Tuto Mondragon took the kick off in the first half of the match. Roy Huetar made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rafa Arce in the 7th minute of play. In the 8th match minute, Esterillos was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Evaristo Arroyo to maneuver through the defense. Rafa Arce sent away a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 20 minutes into the match, Celso Arrieta had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Roy Huetar. Esterillos's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Celso Arrieta was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-0. In the 24th minute, Tuto Mondragon got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Irvin Leiton didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Tuto Mondragon went, in the 26th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. An unexpectedly hard shot by Joaquin Brenes in the 36th minute of play forced Playa Hermosa FC's goalkeeper Irvin Leiton to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tuto Mondragon might have been able to make a better finish in the 40th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Irvin Leiton. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Tuto Mondragon ran back to his position shaking his head. Jaime Kamakiri kicked well hit freekick during the 41st minute of the match. Tuto Mondragon fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 43rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Irvin Leiton having to interfere. Tuto Mondragon might have been able to make a better finish in the 47th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Irvin Leiton. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Tuto Mondragon ran back to his position shaking his head. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Rafa Arce to strike the kick off in the second half. Rafa Arce received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 57th minute. Roy Huetar tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After having played for 62 minutes, Joaquin Brenes managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Esterillos's supporters crossed their fingers, but Joaquin Brenes was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The audience was convinced that Tuto Mondragon's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Irvin Leiton was relentless in the 63rd minute of the game. After a defensive mix-up in Playa Hermosa FC's zone, Tuto Mondragon stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Irvin Leiton came out of the goal and Tuto Mondragon tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 67 minutes of play, Esterillos's Joaquin Brenes made it 1-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Irvin Leiton was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 72nd minute, Joaquin Brenes got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. A collision led to Esterillos getting a freekick after 86 minutes play. Saul Hernandez hit a great ball. Roy Huetar showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rafa Arce, who was totally free with the ball in the 92nd minute. The Esterillos supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Esterillos would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.