League

Estadio Cantadero
Spectators: 7204 (Terracing: 5405, Seating: 1656, VIP seats: 143) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Teobaldo Beat got the match started through his kick off. Rafael Ponce made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alfredo Ascencio in the 7th minute of play. Encrucijada's Romeo Bartoleme played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gaspar Tolino in the 8th minute of play. After a rather tough play, Deportivo Merlo's Arnulfo Emesto got a free kick in the 9th minute. Romeo Bartoleme took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Arnulfo Emesto, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 20th minute of the match Arnaldo Arotza shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Romeo Bartoleme showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. Teobaldo Beat hit a great freekick 21 minutes into the match. In the 22nd match minute, Deportivo Merlo was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gaspar Tolino to maneuver through the defense. Alfredo Ascencio fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 25th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Rafael Ponce having to interfere. With an all-out effort, Deportivo Merlo's Romeo Bartoleme threw himself towards the right post 29 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Gaspar Tolino, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Romeo Bartoleme took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Teobaldo Beat, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Nestor Unax sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Encrucijada's Romeo Bartoleme played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Teobaldo Beat in the 40th minute of play. Uriel Argenis's late challenge caught a Deportivo Merlo's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Uriel Argenis helped the player get up and apologised. Uriel Argenis hit a great freekick 44 minutes into the match. With an all-out effort, Deportivo Merlo's Romeo Bartoleme threw himself towards the right post 45 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Teobaldo Beat, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Uriel Argenis to make the kick off. 51 minutes into the match, Gaspar Tolino had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Romeo Bartoleme. Encrucijada's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Gaspar Tolino was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-0. After 54 played minutes Deportivo Merlo got a freekick which was hit by Arnulfo Emesto. Deportivo Merlo's Rafael Ponce played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alfredo Ascencio in the 55th minute of play. Teobaldo Beat scored 2-0 in the 61st match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Romeo Bartoleme, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After 65 played minutes Deportivo Merlo got a freekick which was hit by Arnaldo Arotza. If Uriel Argenis had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 75th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Santos Obano hit a great freekick 94 minutes into the match. Deportivo Merlo's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.