Challenge

Wordsley Stadium
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Toni Mauzer kicked off to start the match. Ilija Skugor was out of position in the 7 minute of play, and Alda Correia capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Alda Correia really showed his touch with that goal: 1-0. Custódio Preto came out of the goal in the 18th minute to try and stop a shot by Croatia's Martin Bosak. But to his dismay, Martin Bosak quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-1. Ubaldo Montinho charged in rather forcefully in the 23rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ubaldo Montinho the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, Recreativo FC®'s Ubaldo Montinho got a free kick in the 23rd minute. Rogério Da Costa made in the 24th minute of the game a quick throw-in and Manuel Novais immediately put the ball in play. 28 minutes into the match, Recreativo FC®'s goal looked a bit too open when Martin Bosak came free, but Custódio Preto reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 31 minutes into the match, Eduard Kostelac had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Custódio Preto. Recreativo FC®'s manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Eduard Kostelac was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2. After a long run with the ball, Damir Pongrac did a trick in the 37th minute in front of Recreativo FC®'s goalkeeper, who threw himself to the side. After that it was simple to shoot 1-3. An impressive performance by Croatia's Damir Pongrac! Ilija Skugor made a fantastic save in the 42nd minute, when João Carlos Gonçalves sent off a good shot on target. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alda Correia in the 43rd minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Ilija Skugor to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 43rd minute, Damir Pongrac hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 1-3 lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Alda Correia was the one to do the kick off. Damir Pongrac struck a weak shot in the 51st minute. Custódio Preto didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Croatia. Pôncio Bouça hit a great freekick 52 minutes into the match. Recreativo FC®'s Custódio Preto played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Eduard Kostelac in the 55th minute of play. Toni Mauzer fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 56th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Custódio Preto having to interfere. After some careless play in the Croatia defense, Pôncio Bouça kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Ilija Skugor. The Croatia fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Ilija Skugor should have stopped the shot. 68 minutes into the match, Martin Bosak dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Custódio Preto, 3-4. Custódio Preto was a little too slow when Martin Bosak got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 72nd minute. The score was now 3-5. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from João Carlos Gonçalves in the 75th minute of play. Custódio Preto took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Damir Pongrac, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ilija Skugor took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from João Carlos Gonçalves, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a rather tough play, Recreativo FC®'s Pôncio Bouça got a free kick in the 85th minute. Custódio Preto made an important save on a dangerous shot by Dinko Stankovic in the 90th minute. When the final whistle sounded Croatia left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Recreativo FC®.