Challenge

Elland Road
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Nikifor Ruzhekov didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Gustaaf Groeneveldt went, in the 5th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. 8 minutes into the match, EW® Leeds's goal looked a bit too open when Wim Wilmes came free, but Nikifor Ruzhekov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Nikifor Ruzhekov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gijsbert ter Kruimer, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Stoycho Mladenov could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 12th minute of the match, but Arnout Reekers made a huge save. Nikifor Ruzhekov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Gustaaf Groeneveldt's shot from short distance in the 17th minute. After 17th play minutes Gustaaf Groeneveldt shot 0-2, a short shot which went by Nikifor Ruzhekov and just under the crossbar into goal. With his leg Arnout Reekers managed to avoid a goal in the 20thth minute, when EW® Leeds's Anatoli Filov fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. Egbert Nijveldt hit a great freekick 21 minutes into the match. Anatoli Filov received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 22nd minute. Arnout Reekers tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience thought a goal was coming when Stoycho Mladenov got free with Arnout Reekers in the 26th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Nikifor Ruzhekov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gustaaf Groeneveldt, who was totally free with the ball in the 28th minute. 30 minutes into the match, EW® Leeds's goal looked a bit too open when Gustaaf Groeneveldt came free, but Nikifor Ruzhekov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Netherlands's Gijsbert ter Kruimer got a good chance for a goal in the 34th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Gijsbert ter Kruimer sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Nikifor Ruzhekov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Wim Wilmes in the 39th minute of the match. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

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. In the 52nd minute the ball was on its way in behind EW® Leeds's goalkeeper Nikifor Ruzhekov, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Gustaaf Groeneveldt could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 56th minute of the match, but Nikifor Ruzhekov made a huge save. With a little luck, EW® Leeds's Nikifor Ruzhekov got control of the ball when Gustaaf Groeneveldt tried to sneak it across the goal line. A collision led to Netherlands getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Mathijn Doctor hit a great ball. In the 68th minute, Chavdar Motekov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Thanks to some nice moves Gustaaf Groeneveldt could shoot a difficult shot in the 73rd minute, which Nikifor Ruzhekov however easily saved by the left post. David Eikelkamp sent away a hard shot on goal in the 78th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Arnout Reekers showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Anatoli Filov, who was totally free with the ball in the 79th minute. In the 82nd minute of the match, Lars Meesters tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Nikifor Ruzhekov saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. 83 minutes into the match, EW® Leeds's goal looked a bit too open when Wim Wilmes came free, but Nikifor Ruzhekov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Nikifor Ruzhekov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lars Meesters, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The corner ended in Gustaaf Groeneveldt almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but EW® Leeds's Nikifor Ruzhekov did a great save. After a defensive mix-up in Netherlands's zone, Tervel Dushanov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Arnout Reekers came out of the goal and Tervel Dushanov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Arnout Reekers showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Slavi Dramov in the 93rd minute of the match. Wim Wilmes had several of the EW® Leeds's defenders around him in the penalty area when he, after 95 minutes of play, received a pass and succeeded in some way to shoot a shot which went straight ahead into goal. This resulted in a 0-4 score and a disappointed Nikifor Ruzhekov as he didn't even see the shot coming. Netherlands's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.