Challenge

National Stadium
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. Benigno Froila started the match with the kick off. Joel Diaz came out of the goal in the 7th minute to try and stop a shot by Santa Fe's Roque Roso. But to his dismay, Roque Roso quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. Santa Fe's Silverio Sanson played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Benigno Froila in the 10th minute of play. In the 12th minute Roque Roso shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Joel Diaz saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 1-1 became the score in the 14th minute when Benigno Froila elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. An unexpectedly hard shot by Romulo Lalla in the 18th minute of play forced U21 Mexico's goalkeeper Joel Diaz to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Fabio Gasteiz fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 20th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Silverio Sanson having to interfere. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Rosendo Dominix during the 21st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 21st minute, Rosendo Dominix hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Gustavo Roldan charged in rather forcefully in the 22nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Gustavo Roldan the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Santa Fe booed when U21 Mexico was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 22 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gustavo Roldan didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 24 played minutes U21 Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Conrado Efraim. In the 28th minute Roque Roso shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Joel Diaz saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Silverio Sanson was a little too slow when Benigno Froila got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 35th minute. The score was now 2-1. After a rather tough play, U21 Mexico's Segundo Balendin got a free kick in the 37th minute. In the 39th minute, Roque Roso left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Santa Fe fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-2. After a rather tough play, Santa Fe's Rolando Madaleno got a free kick in the 41st minute. Joel Diaz showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Romulo Lalla, who was totally free with the ball in the 45th minute. 45 minutes into the game, Santa Fe's Romulo Lalla nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Joel Diaz made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-3. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 2-3.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Romulo Lalla to strike the kick off in the second half. Joel Diaz made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Romulo Lalla in the 51st minute of play. 53 minutes into the match, U21 Mexico's goal looked a bit too open when Roque Roso came free, but Joel Diaz reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 59th minute, Emil Duszenski hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Joel Diaz showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Roque Roso in the 65th minute of the match. 70 minutes into the match, Santa Fe's Roque Roso sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Joel Diaz narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Romulo Lalla came free with the goalkeeper in the 74th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Joel Diaz could save by the left post. In the 77th minute, Romulo Lalla reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Joel Diaz. The goal made the score 2-4. 82 minutes into the match, U21 Mexico's goal looked a bit too open when Roque Roso came free, but Joel Diaz reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Santa Fe's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Marcos Gau in the 84th minute. The corner led Santa Fe's Marcos Gau to fire away a dangerous shot which Joel Diaz despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. With a little luck, U21 Mexico's Joel Diaz got control of the ball when Tommy Gun tried to sneak it across the goal line. After taking down the ball on Santa Fe's corner Tommy Gun fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Joel Diaz quite easily take care of the ball. Juan Fernando Pratto fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 92nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Joel Diaz having to interfere. Conrado Efraim's late challenge caught a Santa Fe's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Conrado Efraim helped the player get up and apologised. After 94 played minutes U21 Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Conrado Efraim. In the 96th minute, Roque Roso ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Joel Diaz was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-5. When the final whistle sounded Santa Fe left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than U21 Mexico.