Challenge

Claude François
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Francisco Conceicão took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 4thth minute of the game Eduardo Cossa who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Netherlands's Arnout Reekers was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Gustaaf Groeneveldt kicked well hit freekick during the 12th minute of the match. Arnout Reekers took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Eduardo Cossa, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The supporters of Netherlands booed when Alexandrie CF was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 22 match minutes in a wonderful position. Isaac Andrews didn't get a good kick on the ball. Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Eduardo Cossa in the 24th minute of play. Vítor Baia showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 26th minute of the match. In the 29thth minute of the game Wim Wilmes who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Alexandrie CF's Vítor Baia was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Arnout Reekers showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Eduardo Cossa in the 32nd minute of the match. After 34 minutes Alexandrie CF's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Gijsbert ter Kruimer who took care of the corner kick. The corner led to Netherlands's Gust Ennemans getting away a dangerous shot that went just outside the goal. Gijsbert ter Kruimer sent away a hard shot on goal in the 38th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gustaaf Groeneveldt in the 46th minute of play forced Alexandrie CF's goalkeeper Vítor Baia to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Gijsbert ter Kruimer made a kick off. Vítor Baia made an important save on a dangerous shot by Wim Wilmes in the 56th minute. The supporters of Alexandrie CF booed when Netherlands was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 57 match minutes in a wonderful position. Egbert Nijveldt didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 61st match minute, Netherlands was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bas Tuitert to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ruslan Tikhonov in the 61st minute of play forced Netherlands's goalkeeper Arnout Reekers to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 62nd match minute, Netherlands was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Wim Wilmes to maneuver through the defense. The audience was convinced that Eduardo Cossa's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Arnout Reekers was relentless in the 63rd minute of the game. In the 70th minute, Eduardo Cossa 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. Vítor Baia showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer, who was totally free with the ball in the 73rd minute. If Francisco Conceicão had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 74th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. With an all-out effort, Netherlands's Vítor Baia threw himself towards the right post 76 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Gijsbert ter Kruimer, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. In the 84th minute, Netherlands's Gijsbert ter Kruimer dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 0-1. Alexandrie CF's Mateus Uribe was substituted for Eduardo Cossa. Gijsbert ter Kruimer fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 91st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Vítor Baia having to interfere. Netherlands's Wim Wilmes got a good chance for a goal in the 95th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. When the match was over Netherlands could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Alexandrie CF throughout the match.