Challenge

Croatia Arena
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) An unexpectedly hard shot by Franco Epifani in the 4th minute of play forced Croatia's goalkeeper Ilija Skugor to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 6th minute Edmondo Melone 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. Ilija Skugor came out of the goal in the 11th minute to try and stop a shot by Borgo Doria F.C.'s Edmondo Melone. But to his dismay, Edmondo Melone quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. After some careless play in the Croatia defense, Franco Epifani 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. Croatia's Ilija Skugor played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dino Simeoni in the 22nd minute of play. In the 23rd minute, Franco Epifani made a precise shot to the right of Ilija Skugor. Croatia's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-4. When the match had gone on for 31 minutes, Alberto Scutti put it in 0-6 from a short distance just to the right of Ilija Skugor. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alberto Scutti in the 34th minute of play. Alberto Scutti scored 0-7 in the 35th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Ilija Skugor, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. 38 minutes into the game, Dino Simeoni cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-8. Ilija Skugor was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 41st minute Alberto Scutti 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. After 42 minutes of play, Borgo Doria F.C.'s Edmondo Melone made it 0-9 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Ilija Skugor was left in no man's land by his defense there! Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Franco Epifani in the 45th minute of play. When Damir Pongrac fell near the penalty area in the 47th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Croatia's protests and gave Damir Pongrac a yellow card for diving instead. Disappointed in the 0-9 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Toni Mauzer to make the kick off. Alberto Scutti came free with the goalkeeper in the 51st minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Ilija Skugor could save by the left post. Ilija Skugor didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Edmondo Melone went, in the 52nd minute, to the upper right corner, 0-10 was the resulting score. Ilija Skugor took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Franco Epifani, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 57th minute, Fabio Bottone reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Ilija Skugor. The goal made the score 0-11. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Franco Epifani in the 66th minute of play. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dino Simeoni in the 68th minute of play. After 69 played minutes Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Dinko Stankovic. In the 70th minute, Dino Simeoni reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Ilija Skugor. The goal made the score 0-13. 72 minutes into the match, Dino Simeoni had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ilija Skugor. Croatia's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Dino Simeoni was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-14. Through an outstanding action, after 75 minutes, Ilija Skugor successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Ilija Skugor showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Edmondo Melone in the 77th minute of the match. 78 minutes into the game, Borgo Doria F.C.'s Fabio Bottone nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Ilija Skugor made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-15. Ilija Skugor didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Edmondo Melone went, in the 81st minute, to the upper right corner, 0-16 was the resulting score. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alberto Scutti in the 84th minute of play. With a little luck, Croatia's Ilija Skugor got control of the ball when Alberto Scutti tried to sneak it across the goal line. Franco Epifani scored 0-17 in the 87th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Ilija Skugor, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Fabio Bottone could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 92nd minute of the match, but Ilija Skugor made a huge save. Ilija Skugor came out of the goal in the 94th minute to try and stop a shot by Borgo Doria F.C.'s Mei Xiang Hui. But to his dismay, Mei Xiang Hui quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-18. The Croatia fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Borgo Doria F.C. were clearly better and deserved to take the win.