Challenge

Netherlands Arena
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, 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. Gijsbert ter Kruimer started the match with the kick off. Jyrki Saarelainen fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 4th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Arnout Reekers having to interfere. Victor Negara made an important save on a dangerous shot by Gustaaf Groeneveldt in the 6th minute. Wim Wilmes took the ball and in the 8 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Victor Negara. Victor Negara dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-0. In the 11th minute the ball was on its way in behind Rovine Craiova's goalkeeper Victor Negara, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Victor Negara was out of position in the 17 minute of play, and Gustaaf Groeneveldt capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Gustaaf Groeneveldt really showed his touch with that goal: 2-0. Arnout Reekers took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Shen Xi Bang, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 27th minute of the match, Gijsbert ter Kruimer tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Victor Negara saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. In the 28th minute of the match Netherlands got a corner. Rovine Craiova'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. When Rovine Craiova's Manole Frunză in the 30th minute got a chance for a shot 30th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Netherlands's goalie prevented a goal. In the 38th minute Shen Xi Bang 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. Arnout Reekers didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Manole Frunză went, in the 40th minute, to the upper right corner, 2-1 was the resulting score. With an all-out effort, Netherlands's Victor Negara threw himself towards the right post 45 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Wim Wilmes, which otherwise would have been placed in the net.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Manole Frunză stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Arnout Reekers made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Shen Xi Bang in the 54th minute of play. 55 minutes into the match, Netherlands's goalkeeper Arnout Reekers had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Jyrki Saarelainen. Arnout Reekers took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alexandru Tudorică, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience thought a goal was coming when Jyrki Saarelainen got free with Arnout Reekers in the 62nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The audience was convinced that Manole Frunză's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Arnout Reekers was relentless in the 63rd minute of the game. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Manole Frunză in the 63rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Arnout Reekers saved Netherlands from getting behind. 65 minutes into the match, Netherlands's goal looked a bit too open when Manole Frunză came free, but Arnout Reekers reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 67th minute Shen Xi Bang 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. 69 minutes into the match, Wim Wilmes notched a goal, 3-1, to the right of Rovine Craiova's Victor Negara. Victor Negara was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Arnout Reekers showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jyrki Saarelainen in the 78th minute of the match. Jyrki Saarelainen could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 78th minute of the match, but Arnout Reekers made a huge save. Arnout Reekers made a fantastic save in the 83rd minute, when Jyrki Saarelainen sent off a good shot on target. Gustaaf Groeneveldt fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 86th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Victor Negara having to interfere. Victor Negara showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from David Eikelkamp in the 87th minute of the match. Arnout Reekers showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Shen Xi Bang, who was totally free with the ball in the 89th minute. In the 93rd minute, Lars Meesters hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 94th minute, Netherlands's Bas Tuitert seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Bas Tuitert the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Netherlands protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Bas Tuitert had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. 94 minutes into the game, one of Netherlands:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. Netherlands's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.