Challenge

Balan Arena
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Anton Platon took the kick off in the first half of the match. 5 minutes into the game, Damir Pongrac cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Calistrat Hurmuzescu was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Patrik Terzic kicked well hit freekick during the 7th minute of the match. Calistrat Hurmuzescu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Toni Mauzer in the 10th minute of play. Croatia's Ilija Skugor played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Anton Platon in the 11th minute of play. When Albert Grigorie fell near the penalty area in the 14th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored JUNIOR 2012's protests and gave Albert Grigorie a yellow card for diving instead. After 16 played minutes Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Martin Bosak. After a rather tough play, Croatia's Damir Pongrac got a free kick in the 18th minute. With a little luck, Croatia's Ilija Skugor got control of the ball when Daniel Comăneci tried to sneak it across the goal line. Calistrat Hurmuzescu showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dinko Stankovic in the 23rd minute of the match. Toni Mauzer took the ball and in the 25 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Calistrat Hurmuzescu. Calistrat Hurmuzescu dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-2. Calistrat Hurmuzescu took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Toni Mauzer, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 33rd minute, JUNIOR 2012's Anton Platon ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Ilija Skugor. Ilija Skugor yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 1-2. In the 36th minute, Toni Mauzer left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Croatia fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-3. The crowd rose to their feet as Anton Platon kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Ilija Skugor. That made the score 2-3 in the 39 minute of play. JUNIOR 2012's Calistrat Hurmuzescu played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Toni Mauzer in the 43rd minute of play. Calistrat Hurmuzescu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dinko Stankovic in the 44th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Damir Pongrac in the 45th minute of play forced JUNIOR 2012's goalkeeper Calistrat Hurmuzescu to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Disappointed in the 2-3 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Toni Mauzer made a kick off. After 52 minutes of play, JUNIOR 2012's Anton Platon made it 3-3 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! In the 55th minute, Damir Pongrac hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 56th minute, Radu Olăroiu hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Toni Mauzer in the 59th minute of play forced JUNIOR 2012's goalkeeper Calistrat Hurmuzescu to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 61st minute Anton Platon 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. In the 63rd match minute, Croatia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Silvije Santek to maneuver through the defense. 66 minutes into the match, Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Radu Olăroiu came free, but Ilija Skugor reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Calistrat Hurmuzescu made a fantastic save in the 67th minute, when Damir Pongrac sent off a good shot on target. In the 70th minute Toni Mauzer shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Calistrat Hurmuzescu saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Calistrat Hurmuzescu made an important save on a dangerous shot by Toni Mauzer in the 71st minute. Radu Olăroiu recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 73rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The supporters of JUNIOR 2012 booed when Croatia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 76 match minutes in a wonderful position. Benjamin Domazet didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some careless play in the Croatia defense, Radu Olăroiu 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. Calistrat Hurmuzescu made an important save on a dangerous shot by Dinko Stankovic in the 83rd minute. When Benjamin Domazet fell near the penalty area in the 86th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Croatia's protests and gave Benjamin Domazet a yellow card for diving instead. Benjamin Domazet hit a great freekick 86 minutes into the match. 88 minutes into the match, Anton Platon notched a goal, 5-3, to the right of Croatia's Ilija Skugor. Ilija Skugor was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. 94 minutes into the game, Anton Platon cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 6-3. Ilija Skugor was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. JUNIOR 2012's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.