Challenge

Stade Michel Hidalgo
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Youri Borderie got the match started through his kick off. Arnout Reekers made an important save on a dangerous shot by Aymerick Tourrette in the 8th minute. In the 8thth minute of the game Youri Borderie 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. U.S.Normande's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Fred Battini in the 9th minute. 12 minutes into the match, U.S.Normande's goal looked a bit too open when Wim Wilmes came free, but Christopher Barnier reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 14th minute of the game. One of U.S.Normande:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Netherlands:s goal. U.S.Normande:s Christopher Barnier showed great skill when he stopped Gijsbert ter Kruimer:s penalty. In the 15th minute, Gijsbert ter Kruimer ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Christopher Barnier was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Arnout Reekers made a fantastic save in the 19th minute, when Bengt-Rune Mellberg sent off a good shot on target. When Gustaaf Groeneveldt came up free with the goalie in the 20th minute, the Netherlands 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 Gustaaf Groeneveldt couldn't finish the play. 27 minutes into the game, Gijsbert ter Kruimer cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Christopher Barnier was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. U.S.Normande's Christopher Barnier played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 33rd minute of play. With a little luck, Netherlands's Arnout Reekers got control of the ball when Bengt-Rune Mellberg tried to sneak it across the goal line. Arnout Reekers made an important save on a dangerous shot by Bengt-Rune Mellberg in the 40th minute. In the 42nd minute Gijsbert ter Kruimer shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Christopher Barnier saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gustaaf Groeneveldt fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 43rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Christopher Barnier having to interfere. When Egbert Nijveldt fell near the penalty area in the 46th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Netherlands's protests and gave Egbert Nijveldt a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Netherlands getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Egbert Nijveldt hit a great ball. After a rather tough play, U.S.Normande's Aurélien Mussard got a free kick in the 47th minute.

The wind increased when Gijsbert ter Kruimer made the kick off in the second half. Christopher Barnier made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lars Meesters in the 51st minute of play. Netherlands's Arnout Reekers played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aurélien Mussard in the 52nd minute of play. After 54 played minutes Netherlands got a freekick which was hit by Gijsbert ter Kruimer. Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Youri Borderie in the 59th minute of play. After 60 minutes Netherlands's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Fred Battini who took care of the corner kick. The corner ended in Fred Battini almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Netherlands's Arnout Reekers did a great save. 63 minutes into the match, Netherlands's goal looked a bit too open when Aurélien Mussard came free, but Arnout Reekers reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. David Eikelkamp received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 66th minute. Christopher Barnier tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 67th minute, Bas Tuitert hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 70 minutes into the match, Gijsbert ter Kruimer dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Christopher Barnier, 0-3. After 76 played minutes Netherlands's Gustaaf Groeneveldt stole the ball from his opponents and shot the ball towards the upper left corner, but Christopher Barnier stretched himself as far as he could, and stopped the ball from passing the line. robbing U.S.Normande of the goal. In the 77th minute of the match Netherlands got a corner. U.S.Normande's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Gijsbert ter Kruimer ran over to the corner to take the kick. A very nice done corner allowed Wim Wilmes to score against Christopher Barnier in U.S.Normande's goal. 0-4 after 77 minutes. The crowd rose to their feet as Netherlands's Gijsbert ter Kruimer slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Christopher Barnier. That made the score 0-5 after 80 minutes of play. Bas Tuitert took the ball and in the 84 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Christopher Barnier. Christopher Barnier dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-6. After a defensive mix-up in Netherlands's zone, Fred Battini stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Arnout Reekers came out of the goal and Fred Battini tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 93 minutes into the match, U.S.Normande's goalkeeper Christopher Barnier had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Lars Meesters. U.S.Normande's Christopher Barnier proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 94th minute of the match, managed to save U.S.Normande from getting a goal against them.