League

La Fortaleza
Spectators: 8074 (Terracing: 6057, Seating: 1857, VIP seats: 160) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Warren Boles got the match started through his kick off. Matthew Zaragoza did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 1-0 to the left of a surprised Rickey Saldana 9 minutes into the match. Club Atlético Lanús's Yu Zhen Zhen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Wilford MacDowell in the 13th minute of play. Rickey Saldana stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Dallas Huff's shot from short distance in the 15th minute. Ben Gould's late challenge caught a Melbourne's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Ben Gould helped the player get up and apologised. In the 16th minute, Ben Gould hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Rodney Salas kicked well hit freekick during the 18th minute of the match. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Carlos Baldwin during the 19th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 19th match minute, Club Atlético Lanús was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Carlos Baldwin to maneuver through the defense. Yu Zhen Zhen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Warren Boles, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Warren Boles struck a weak shot in the 24th minute. Yu Zhen Zhen didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Melbourne. In the 26th minute Warren Boles shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Yu Zhen Zhen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Yu Zhen Zhen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Warren Boles, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 29 minutes into the game, Melbourne's Warren Boles nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Yu Zhen Zhen made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-1. A collision led to Melbourne getting a freekick after 34 minutes play. Lorenzo Chu hit a great ball. Chance Yarbrough took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 36th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Rickey Saldana. Melbourne's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. 37 minutes into the match, Club Atlético Lanús's goal looked a bit too open when Warren Boles came free, but Yu Zhen Zhen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 40 minutes into the match, Matthew Zaragoza had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Rickey Saldana. Melbourne's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Matthew Zaragoza was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. In the 47thth minute of the game Dallas Huff who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Melbourne's Rickey Saldana was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-1 at half-time.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Dallas Huff stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. 51 minutes into the match, Ben Gould had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Rickey Saldana. Melbourne's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Ben Gould was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-1. In the 56thth minute of the game Dallas Huff who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Melbourne's Rickey Saldana was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Rickey Saldana didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Matthew Zaragoza went, in the 63rd minute, to the upper right corner, 4-1 was the resulting score. A collision led to Club Atlético Lanús getting a freekick after 65 minutes play. Dallas Huff hit a great ball. If Rodney Salas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 67th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Rickey Saldana showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Matthew Zaragoza, who was totally free with the ball in the 71st minute. 73 minutes into the match, Matthew Zaragoza notched a goal, 5-1, to the right of Melbourne's Rickey Saldana. Rickey Saldana was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Rickey Saldana took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dallas Huff, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Yu Zhen Zhen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Warren Boles in the 79th minute of the match. 81 minutes into the game, Dallas Huff cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 6-1. Rickey Saldana was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Sidney Sutton's late challenge caught a Club Atlético Lanús's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Sidney Sutton helped the player get up and apologised. Sidney Sutton kicked well hit freekick during the 87th minute of the match. Rickey Saldana showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Dallas Huff, who was totally free with the ball in the 91st minute. Melbourne's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.