Challenge

Croatia Arena
Spectators: 47 (Terracing: 36, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Toni Mauzer made the kick off which started today's match. Raymond Schouten charged in rather forcefully in the 2nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Raymond Schouten the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Croatia booed when NFC Eagles 22 was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 2 match minutes in a wonderful position. Raymond Schouten didn't get a good kick on the ball. 5 minutes into the match, Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Tanek Daszkowski came free, but Ilija Skugor reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Tanek Daszkowski in the 7th minute of play. The supporters of Croatia booed when NFC Eagles 22 was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 10 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ron Moermans didn't get a good kick on the ball. 11 minutes into the match, Tanek Daszkowski notched a goal, 0-1, 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. In the 15th minute, Tanek Daszkowski left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The NFC Eagles 22 fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-2. After 22 minutes, Tanek Daszkowski made it 0-3 with a short kick to the right side. Croatia's Ilija Skugor tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Ilija Skugor made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Joeri Donderwinkel in the 26th minute of play. In the 29th minute, Tanek Daszkowski ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Ilija Skugor was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-4. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Tanek Daszkowski in the 32nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Ilija Skugor saved Croatia from getting behind. In the 33rd minute, Raymond Schouten made a precise shot to the right of Ilija Skugor. Croatia's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-5. After a defensive mix-up in Croatia's zone, Tanek Daszkowski stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Ilija Skugor came out of the goal and Tanek Daszkowski tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Tanek Daszkowski took the ball and in the 39 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Ilija Skugor. Ilija Skugor dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-6. A collision led to Croatia getting a freekick after 42 minutes play. Teo Gudelj hit a great ball. 45 minutes into the match, Croatia's goal looked a bit too open when Joeri Donderwinkel came free, but Ilija Skugor reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, NFC Eagles 22's Raymond Schouten got a free kick in the 46th minute. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-6 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Ilija Skugor didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Tanek Daszkowski went, in the 53rd minute, to the upper right corner, 0-7 was the resulting score. Ilija Skugor came out of the goal in the 58th minute to try and stop a shot by NFC Eagles 22's Tanek Daszkowski. But to his dismay, Tanek Daszkowski quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-8. 61 minutes into the game, NFC Eagles 22's Tanek Daszkowski 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, 0-9. 64 minutes into the match, Tanek Daszkowski notched a goal, 0-10, 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. In the 67th minute, NFC Eagles 22's Tanek Daszkowski dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 0-11. Ilija Skugor was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Raymond Schouten showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 0-12 in the 70 minute of play. The crowd rose to their feet as NFC Eagles 22's Tanek Daszkowski slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Ilija Skugor. That made the score 0-13 after 74 minutes of play. 76 minutes into the match, Tanek Daszkowski notched a goal, 0-14, 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. NFC Eagles 22's Jeroen Heerckes was substituted for Emil Houwing. Ilija Skugor was a little too slow when Tanek Daszkowski got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 84th minute. The score was now 0-15. Ilija Skugor made a fantastic save in the 87th minute, when Tanek Daszkowski sent off a good shot on target. 90 minutes into the match, Raymond Schouten notched a goal, 0-16, 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. When Tanek Daszkowski came up free with the goalie in the 95th minute, the NFC Eagles 22 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 Tanek Daszkowski couldn't finish the play. NFC Eagles 22's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.