Challenge

Croatia Arena
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Artur Zajac started the match with the kick off. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Artur Zajac in the 3rd minute of play. In the 4th minute Jaroslaw Dudek shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ilija Skugor saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. A collision led to Croatia getting a freekick after 7 minutes play. Silvije Santek hit a great ball. Damir Pongrac hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. SocceroS Zory's Artur Matela proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 21st minute of the match, managed to save SocceroS Zory from getting a goal against them. Toni Mauzer made a great header on Croatia's corner, it was just that SocceroS Zory's Artur Matela managed to reach the ball for a save. When Jaroslaw Flis fell near the penalty area in the 23rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored SocceroS Zory's protests and gave Jaroslaw Flis a yellow card for diving instead. The supporters of Croatia booed when SocceroS Zory was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 23 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jaroslaw Flis didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some careless play in the SocceroS Zory defense, Dinko Stankovic kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Artur Matela. The SocceroS Zory fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Artur Matela should have stopped the shot. If Martin Bosak had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 27th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Iwo Klucznik's late challenge caught a Croatia's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Iwo Klucznik helped the player get up and apologised. After 29 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for SocceroS Zory! SocceroS Zory:s Artur Matela showed great skill when he stopped Toni Mauzer:s penalty. After 37 played minutes SocceroS Zory got a freekick which was hit by Cyryl Zima. When Toni Mauzer came up free with the goalie in the 37th minute, the Croatia 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 Toni Mauzer couldn't finish the play. In the 39th minute, Neven Culina hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field.

51 minutes into the game, Damir Pongrac was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Croatia's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave SocceroS Zory the free kick. After 51 played minutes Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Damir Pongrac. Neven Culina hit a great freekick 53 minutes into the match. Ilija Skugor made an important save on a dangerous shot by Artur Zajac in the 57th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Toni Mauzer in the 59th minute of play forced SocceroS Zory's goalkeeper Artur Matela to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Jaroslaw Dudek charged in rather forcefully in the 64th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Jaroslaw Dudek the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 64th match minute, SocceroS Zory was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Jaroslaw Dudek to maneuver through the defense. After 68 minutes SocceroS Zory's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Toni Mauzer who took care of the corner kick. The corner led Croatia's Toni Mauzer to fire away a dangerous shot which Artur Matela despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. Neven Culina sent away a hard shot on goal in the 74th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Toni Mauzer in the 76th minute of play forced SocceroS Zory's goalkeeper Artur Matela to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some careless play in the SocceroS Zory defense, Toni Mauzer kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Artur Matela. The SocceroS Zory fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Artur Matela should have stopped the shot. Artur Zajac fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 84th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ilija Skugor having to interfere. When Artur Zajac came up free with the goalie in the 85th minute, the SocceroS Zory 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 Artur Zajac couldn't finish the play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jaroslaw Flis in the 87th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Ilija Skugor to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ilija Skugor made an important save on a dangerous shot by Artur Zajac in the 91st minute. In the 93rd minute, Artur Zajac 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. SocceroS Zory's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.