Challenge

Antonio V. Liberti
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Mai Hong Zhen took the kick off in the first half of the match. When Mai Hong Zhen came up free with the goalie in the 3rd minute, the ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Mai Hong Zhen couldn't finish the play. Netherlands were awarded a corner in the 8th minute after ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Gijsbert ter Kruimer took the corner. The corner led Netherlands's Gustaaf Groeneveldt to fire away a dangerous shot which Paolo Urko despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. In the 9thth minute of the game Gustaaf Groeneveldt who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Paolo Urko was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Netherlands were awarded a corner in the 13th minute after ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Gijsbert ter Kruimer took the corner. The supporters of ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ booed when Netherlands was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 14 match minutes in a wonderful position. David Eikelkamp didn't get a good kick on the ball. Mai Hong Zhen was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 18th minute. ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. In the 22nd minute Gustaaf Groeneveldt shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Paolo Urko saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gustaaf Groeneveldt scored 0-1 in the 24th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Paolo Urko, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Paolo Urko took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gustaaf Groeneveldt, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Paolo Urko showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Wim Wilmes in the 31st minute of the match. In the 35th minute Mai Hong Zhen 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. The audience was convinced that Gijsbert ter Kruimer's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Paolo Urko was relentless in the 37th minute of the game. In the 39th match minute, Netherlands was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gust Ennemans to maneuver through the defense. In the 44th minute Gijsbert ter Kruimer shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Paolo Urko saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Paolo Urko took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Wim Wilmes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 46 minutes into the game, Wim Wilmes cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Paolo Urko was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Gijsbert ter Kruimer to strike the kick off in the second half. Mai Hong Zhen might have been able to make a better finish in the 52nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Arnout Reekers. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Mai Hong Zhen ran back to his position shaking his head. An unexpectedly hard shot by Mai Hong Zhen in the 52nd minute of play forced Netherlands's goalkeeper Arnout Reekers to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 54 minutes into the game, Gustaaf Groeneveldt lined in a short shot 0-3 behind a frustrated Paolo Urko. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 57th minute of play forced ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s goalkeeper Paolo Urko to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Paolo Urko 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. Clemente Sindo hit a great freekick 61 minutes into the match. Paolo Urko showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lars Meesters in the 64th minute of the match. The corner ended in Gijsbert ter Kruimer almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Paolo Urko did a great save. 65 minutes into the match, ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s goal looked a bit too open when Bas Tuitert came free, but Paolo Urko reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. With a little luck, ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Paolo Urko got control of the ball when Gustaaf Groeneveldt tried to sneak it across the goal line. The supporters of Netherlands booed when ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 72 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ciriaco Kelemen didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 76th minute, Netherlands's Egbert Nijveldt seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Egbert Nijveldt the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Netherlands protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Egbert Nijveldt had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. After 76 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Netherlands! Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mai Hong Zhen in the 79th minute of play. A collision led to ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ getting a freekick after 87 minutes play. Ermanno Cinalli hit a great ball. Paolo Urko came out of the goal in the 89th minute to try and stop a shot by Netherlands's Wim Wilmes. But to his dismay, Wim Wilmes quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-4. Paolo Urko made an important save on a dangerous shot by Gustaaf Groeneveldt in the 93rd minute. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Osvaldo Infante during the 96th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 96th minute, Osvaldo Infante hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Netherlands's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.