Challenge

Green Fairy Lane
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Gijsbert ter Kruimer kicked off to start the match. If Gustaaf Groeneveldt had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 3rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Wim Wilmes in the 5th minute of play forced The Green Fairies's goalkeeper Freddie Mattsson to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 6 minutes The Green Fairies'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. After taking down the ball on Netherlands's corner Gijsbert ter Kruimer fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Freddie Mattsson quite easily take care of the ball. After 8 minutes The Green Fairies'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. A very nice done corner allowed Wim Wilmes to score against Freddie Mattsson in The Green Fairies's goal. 0-1 after 8 minutes. Freddie Mattsson made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 10th minute of play. After 11 played minutes The Green Fairies got a freekick which was hit by Nils-Erik Nyman. Ralf Västlund could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 17th minute of the match, but Arnout Reekers made a huge save. In the 19th minute Herbert Lundström 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. Freddie Mattsson made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from David Eikelkamp in the 22nd minute of play. Freddie Mattsson took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Wim Wilmes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Arnout Reekers made an important save on a dangerous shot by Pål Bratt in the 28th minute. 30 minutes into the match, Gustaaf Groeneveldt notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of The Green Fairies's Freddie Mattsson. Freddie Mattsson was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 32nd minute, Vilhelm Berg hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Freddie Mattsson showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gustaaf Groeneveldt in the 33rd minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Wim Wilmes in the 34th minute of play forced The Green Fairies's goalkeeper Freddie Mattsson to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Gustaaf Groeneveldt sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Pål Bratt in the 45th minute of play. The The Green Fairies players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Netherlands were winning 1-2.

Netherlands were awarded a corner in the 52th minute after The Green Fairies's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Gijsbert ter Kruimer took the corner. In the 63rd minute, Netherlands's Gustaaf Groeneveldt ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Freddie Mattsson. Freddie Mattsson yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 1-3. In the 69th minute, Gijsbert ter Kruimer 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. In the 77th minute Gijsbert ter Kruimer shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Freddie Mattsson saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. If Wim Wilmes had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 82nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 84th minute, Zadornin Elin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Freddie Mattsson acted impressively in front of the goal and made a superb save when he, in the 85th minute, took the ball on the long shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer. In the 88th minute of the match Netherlands got a corner. The Green Fairies'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. The audience thought a goal was coming when Gustaaf Groeneveldt got free with Freddie Mattsson in the 91st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 93rd match minute, Netherlands was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by David Eikelkamp to maneuver through the defense. After a rather tough play, Netherlands's Egbert Nijveldt got a free kick in the 94th minute. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Netherlands walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.