Challenge

Drafi Arena
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Lionel-Andrés Messi took the kick off in the first half of the match. Soulis Felegakis took the ball and in the 8 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Arnout Reekers. Arnout Reekers dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-0. In the 11th minute, Gijsbert ter Kruimer left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Netherlands fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. Manolis Ntouvaris showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Wim Wilmes in the 16th minute of the match. After having played for 29 minutes, Wim Wilmes managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Netherlands's supporters crossed their fingers, but Wim Wilmes was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Lionel-Andrés Messi took the ball and in the 31 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Arnout Reekers. Arnout Reekers dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 2-1. The crowd rose to their feet as Soulis Felegakis kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Arnout Reekers. That made the score 3-1 in the 36 minute of play. Arnout Reekers made an important save on a dangerous shot by Lionel-Andrés Messi in the 41st minute. In the 43rd minute the ball was on its way in behind Drafi's goalkeeper Manolis Ntouvaris, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 46th match minute, Netherlands was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Lars Meesters to maneuver through the defense.

An unexpectedly hard shot by Wim Wilmes in the 57th minute of play forced Drafi's goalkeeper Manolis Ntouvaris to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Netherlands's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 58th minute. Lars Meesters was in a good position and managed to take a shot, but he missed just to the outside of the post. Arnout Reekers showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Edgard Elssen, who was totally free with the ball in the 60th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Soulis Felegakis in the 60th minute of play forced Netherlands's goalkeeper Arnout Reekers to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 61st minute Drafi were awarded a corner. Lionel-Andrés Messi went to the cornerflag to take it. Giannis Karagiotis hit a great freekick 64 minutes into the match. Drafi's Chatziioannou Stavrakos was substituted for Soulis Felegakis. Giannis Karagiotis hit a great freekick 65 minutes into the match. Gijsbert ter Kruimer took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 66th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Manolis Ntouvaris. Drafi's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. The supporters of Netherlands booed when Drafi was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 67 match minutes in a wonderful position. Thanos Kolokithopoulos didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 70th minute of the match, Gustaaf Groeneveldt got a very nice opportunity to score, but Manolis Ntouvaris was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. If Gustaaf Groeneveldt had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 80th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lionel-Andrés Messi in the 82nd minute of play. After 82 played minutes Netherlands got a freekick which was hit by Egbert Nijveldt. After 94 played minutes Netherlands got a freekick which was hit by Bas Tuitert. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Drafi fans cheered their team off the field, for while Netherlands had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.