Challenge

ANAHEIM CENTER
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Gerry Bibby got the match started through his kick off. After 4 played minutes Switzerland got a freekick which was hit by Timo Siegmund. Through an outstanding action, after 4 minutes, Hias Nüssli successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Gerry Bibby was extremely unlucky when he, in the 7th minute, took a shot that hit the right post and went out. In the 11th minute, Vincent Dry hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a defensive mix-up in ᗩᑎᗩᕼᗴᎥᗰ ᗪᑌᑕᛕᔕ's zone, Samuele Kunz stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Jason Lobb came out of the goal and Samuele Kunz tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Darren Metcalf charged in rather forcefully in the 13th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Darren Metcalf the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to ᗩᑎᗩᕼᗴᎥᗰ ᗪᑌᑕᛕᔕ getting a freekick after 13 minutes play. Darren Metcalf hit a great ball. In the 14th minute, Wally Scorfield hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. A hard shot 18 in the game by Gerry Bibby from a close distance when the talented Hias Nüssli managed to make a qualified save. Switzerland's players were relieved. If Gerry Bibby had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 21st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The long shot by Vincent Dry in the 32nd minute really tested Hias Nüssli's skills. The ball was on its way into the goal to the left of him when he managed to stretch himself and save the shot and avoid a goal. After 42 minutes, Damion Stride mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the ᗩᑎᗩᕼᗴᎥᗰ ᗪᑌᑕᛕᔕ and the Switzerland players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, ᗩᑎᗩᕼᗴᎥᗰ ᗪᑌᑕᛕᔕ's Damion Stride got a free kick in the 42nd minute. Switzerland's Jacinto Maurer got a good chance for a goal in the 43rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. When the match had gone on for 46 minutes, Dom Kyle took a quick shot and it went in 1-0 without a chance for Hias Nüssli to make any attempt to save it. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 1-0.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Samuele Kunz made a kick off. Damion Stride kicked well hit freekick during the 51st minute of the match. Samuele Kunz took the ball and in the 52 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Jason Lobb. Jason Lobb dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-1. In the 55th match minute, Switzerland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Samuele Kunz to maneuver through the defense. In the 56th minute, Dom Kyle 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. Rodrigo von Känel charged in rather forcefully in the 56th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Rodrigo von Känel the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Switzerland getting a freekick after 57 minutes play. Rodrigo von Känel hit a great ball. A collision led to Switzerland getting a freekick after 60 minutes play. Jacinto Maurer hit a great ball. In the 60th minute, Gerry Bibby 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. If Gerry Bibby had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 62nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Vincent Dry scored 2-1 in the 70th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Hias Nüssli, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Brandon Parrott was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 80 minutes into the match. Samuele Kunz walked up to take care of the penalty kick. He was aiming for the top corner, but the ball went just outside the post. Gerry Bibby's late challenge caught a Switzerland's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Gerry Bibby helped the player get up and apologised. The audience was convinced that Samuele Kunz's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Jason Lobb was relentless in the 91st minute of the game. The audience thought a goal was coming when Jacinto Maurer got free with Jason Lobb in the 94th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After 98 minutes of play, ᗩᑎᗩᕼᗴᎥᗰ ᗪᑌᑕᛕᔕ's Gerry Bibby made it 3-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Hias Nüssli was left in no man's land by his defense there! The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The ᗩᑎᗩᕼᗴᎥᗰ ᗪᑌᑕᛕᔕ fans cheered their team off the field, for while Switzerland had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.