Challenge

SMOLENSK
Spectators: 52 (Terracing: 39, Seating: 12, VIP seats: 1) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Edward Vanderstraeten kicked off to start the match. With an all-out effort, Днепр ФК's Casper Claes threw himself towards the right post 5 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Gaspar Calisto, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Gaspar Calistos short, quick shot in the 8thth minute got Casper Claes to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Siebe Michiels might have been able to make a better finish in the 12th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Vladislav Maksimychev. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Siebe Michiels ran back to his position shaking his head. In the 19th minute the ball was on its way in behind Днепр ФК's goalkeeper Vladislav Maksimychev, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 19 minutes into the game, Belgium's Edward Vanderstraeten nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Vladislav Maksimychev made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. The referee felt a red card was in order, 25 minutes into the game, when Nigel Devos put in a rough tackle. In a very dangerous position, a player in Belgium fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 25th minute. Penalty! After having played for 33 minutes, Gaspar Calisto managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Днепр ФК's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gaspar Calisto was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Vladislav Maksimychev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Yves Dervaux in the 36th minute of the match. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

Casper Claes took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ralf Rapp, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a little luck, Днепр ФК's Vladislav Maksimychev got control of the ball when Siebe Michiels tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 67th minute, Simon Sabbe made a precise shot to the right of Vladislav Maksimychev. Днепр ФК's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-2. Siebe Michiels recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 70th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Casper Claes showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Uwe Askri, who was totally free with the ball in the 72nd minute. In the 73rd minute, Edward Vanderstraeten hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gaspar Calisto in the 80th minute of play forced Belgium's goalkeeper Casper Claes to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 82 minutes into the match, Belgium's Simon Sabbe sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Vladislav Maksimychev narrowly saved just below the crossbar. When the match had gone on for 84 minutes, Gaspar Calisto put it in 2-2 from a short distance just to the right of Casper Claes. Erwan Carnot's late challenge caught a Belgium's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Erwan Carnot helped the player get up and apologised. In the 93rd minute, Gaspar Calisto left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Днепр ФК fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-2. Днепр ФК's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.