League

West Burlington
Spectators: 7693 (Terracing: 5771, Seating: 1769, VIP seats: 153) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Dominic Hoffman made the kick off which started today's match. Merrill Rollins showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Bill Romo, who was totally free with the ball in the 4th minute. 5 minutes into the game, one of East Moline:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. Odell Pierre placed the ball on the penalty spot and got himself ready to shoot. Post out! Justin Kincaid made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dominic Hoffman in the 9th minute of play. Boyce Bain kicked well hit freekick during the 10th minute of the match. In the 11th minute the ball was on its way in behind East Moline's goalkeeper Justin Kincaid, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dominic Hoffman in the 13th minute of play forced East Moline's goalkeeper Justin Kincaid to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Merrill Rollins took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Bill Romo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. A collision led to West Burlington getting a freekick after 15 minutes play. Jason Benton hit a great ball. Monty Flores took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 16th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Merrill Rollins. West Burlington's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. 31 minutes into the game, East Moline's Kristopher Marin nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Merrill Rollins made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. Dominic Hoffman fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 37th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Justin Kincaid having to interfere. After 40 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for West Burlington! Monty Flores shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The wind increased when Kristopher Marin made the kick off in the second half. The supporters of West Burlington booed when East Moline was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 56 match minutes in a wonderful position. Kristopher Marin didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 60th minute, Charles Haskins hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some fancy dribbling in the 61st minute, Arturo Storey managed to get in a good position for a shot. West Burlington's supporters rose to their feet, but Arturo Storey was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Justin Kincaid breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 63rd minute, Arturo Storey got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 65th minute, Dominic Hoffman got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Justin Kincaid didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Dominic Hoffman went, in the 69th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. 77 minutes into the game, Bill Romo cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-2. Merrill Rollins was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. East Moline's Boyce Bain suffered a concussion after 82 minutes and had to leave the field. Edward Phelps's late challenge caught a East Moline's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Edward Phelps helped the player get up and apologised. In the 83rd match minute, West Burlington was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Edward Phelps to maneuver through the defense. Bill Romo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 92nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Dominic Hoffman had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 96th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The East Moline supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing East Moline would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.