Challenge

France Arena
Spectators: 47 (Terracing: 36, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Kristian Ottaway took the kick off in the first half of the match. 2 minutes into the game, Joe Wright was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Henley on Thames United's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave France the free kick. In the 2nd match minute, Henley on Thames United was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Joe Wright to maneuver through the defense. Frank Peletier received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 5th minute. Sofoklis Prinianakis tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 6 minutes of play, Henley on Thames United's Edgar Iovanovici made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Maxime Durand was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 9th minute, Kristian Ottaway 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 11th minute, Edgar Iovanovici made a precise shot to the right of Maxime Durand. France's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. After a rather tough play, Henley on Thames United's Carl Houghton got a free kick in the 15th minute. Henley on Thames United's Sofoklis Prinianakis played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Remy Dupuy in the 17th minute of play. Kristian Ottaway recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 20th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Edgar Iovanovici received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 25th minute. Maxime Durand tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Joe Wright was shown his second yellow card after 29 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. The supporters of France booed when Henley on Thames United was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 29 match minutes in a wonderful position. Joe Wright didn't get a good kick on the ball. Frank Peletier could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 30th minute of the match, but Sofoklis Prinianakis made a huge save. After some careless play in the France defense, Edgar Iovanovici kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Maxime Durand. The France fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Maxime Durand should have stopped the shot. An unexpectedly hard shot by Carl Houghton in the 35th minute of play forced France's goalkeeper Maxime Durand to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The supporters of Henley on Thames United booed when France was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 36 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alexis Bruneau didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 40 played minutes France got a freekick which was hit by Camille Baume. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Kristian Ottaway in the 43rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Maxime Durand prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-3 lead.

When the match had gone on for 51 minutes, Kristian Ottaway took a quick shot and it went in 0-4 without a chance for Maxime Durand to make any attempt to save it. In the 53rd minute, Alexander Longthorn hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Sofoklis Prinianakis took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Camille Baume, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Edgar Iovanovici charged in rather forcefully in the 62nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Edgar Iovanovici the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Edgar Iovanovici hit a great freekick 62 minutes into the match. A sloppy throw-in by Beinn Speight in the 68th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by France's Maxime Durand. After 71 played minutes France got a freekick which was hit by Alexis Bruneau. Henley on Thames United's Grant Sherwood shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 72nd minute of play. The shot was stopped by Maxime Durand but with some difficulty. In the 73rd minute the ball was on its way in behind France's goalkeeper Maxime Durand, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. If Kristian Ottaway had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 77th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Henley on Thames United made a substitution. Kris Tetley replaced Edgar Iovanovici. 80 minutes into the match, Henley on Thames United's goal looked a bit too open when Camille Baume came free, but Sofoklis Prinianakis reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Sofoklis Prinianakis took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Camille Baume, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Maxime Durand took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Carl Houghton, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. France's Maxime Durand played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kristian Ottaway in the 92nd minute of play. After 93 minutes, Alexander Longthorn mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Henley on Thames United and the France players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 94th match minute, Henley on Thames United was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Alexander Longthorn to maneuver through the defense. The Henley on Thames United supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Henley on Thames United would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.