Challenge

Arena C6
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Zé Paulo Pombal got the match started through his kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lars Meesters in the 3rd minute of play forced Cruzeiro RS's goalkeeper Eguen Armesto to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a defensive mix-up in Cruzeiro RS's zone, Wim Wilmes stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Eguen Armesto came out of the goal and Wim Wilmes tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Rodriguinho Hoffmann hit a great freekick 7 minutes into the match. Cruzeiro RS's Eguen Armesto played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Wim Wilmes in the 8th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Wim Wilmes in the 14th minute of play forced Cruzeiro RS's goalkeeper Eguen Armesto to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 19th minute Gustaaf Groeneveldt shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Eguen Armesto saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 27th minute of play forced Cruzeiro RS's goalkeeper Eguen Armesto to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Arnout Reekers made a fantastic save in the 28th minute, when Sílvio Lucas sent off a good shot on target. The crowd rose to their feet as Sílvio Lucas kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Arnout Reekers. That made the score 1-0 in the 28 minute of play. Eguen Armesto made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer in the 30th minute of play. Eguen Armesto took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Wim Wilmes, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Netherlands were awarded a corner in the 37th minute after Cruzeiro RS's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Gijsbert ter Kruimer took the corner. Netherlands's Gijsbert ter Kruimer was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Eguen Armesto in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. Zé Paulo Pombal could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 38th minute of the match, but Arnout Reekers made a huge save. Sílvio Lucas received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 45th minute. Arnout Reekers tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 1-0.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Gijsbert ter Kruimer to make the kick off. The audience was convinced that Zé Paulo Pombal's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Arnout Reekers was relentless in the 51st minute of the game. 53 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro RS's goal looked a bit too open when Gustaaf Groeneveldt came free, but Eguen Armesto reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 55th minute of the match, Gustaaf Groeneveldt got a very nice opportunity to score, but Eguen Armesto was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Lars Meesters hit a great freekick 58 minutes into the match. Gustaaf Groeneveldt scored 1-1 in the 63rd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Eguen Armesto, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Wim Wilmes could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 66th minute of the match, but Eguen Armesto made a huge save. Cruzeiro RS's Oséas Tasso was substituted for Tiago Esteves. In the 72nd minute, Anselmo Koehler hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some careless play in the Cruzeiro RS defense, Gijsbert ter Kruimer kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Eguen Armesto. The Cruzeiro RS fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Eguen Armesto should have stopped the shot. Eguen Armesto made a fantastic save in the 80th minute, when Wim Wilmes sent off a good shot on target. Eguen Armesto made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Wim Wilmes in the 85th minute of play. In the 87th minute of the match Netherlands got a corner. Cruzeiro RS'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. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Cruzeiro RS's goalie and right to Kees Mooiweer. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Cruzeiro RS's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. Wim Wilmes struck a weak shot in the 92nd minute. Eguen Armesto didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Netherlands.