U18 World League

The wings of success
Spectators: 8035 (Terracing: 6027, Seating: 1848, VIP seats: 160) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Giorgos Bobolis started the match with the kick off. Genko Dankin showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Giorgos Bobolis, who was totally free with the ball in the 10th minute. A collision led to GREEN PANTHERS FC getting a freekick after 10 minutes play. Eustratios Saravakos hit a great ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Valentin Gebrev in the 11th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Jason Statham saved GREEN PANTHERS FC from getting behind. After 12 played minutes GREEN PANTHERS FC got a freekick which was hit by Dimitris Rachiotis. Jason Statham made an important save on a dangerous shot by Valentin Gebrev in the 21st minute. After a rather tough play, SPARROWS's Minko Búrnev got a free kick in the 22nd minute. With a little luck, GREEN PANTHERS FC's Jason Statham got control of the ball when Yanislav Plachkov tried to sneak it across the goal line. Valentin Gebrev could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 30th minute of the match, but Jason Statham made a huge save. When Theodosis Papagiannis fell near the penalty area in the 31st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored GREEN PANTHERS FC's protests and gave Theodosis Papagiannis a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to GREEN PANTHERS FC getting a freekick after 31 minutes play. Theodosis Papagiannis hit a great ball. After some careless play in the GREEN PANTHERS FC defense, Yanislav Plachkov kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Jason Statham. The GREEN PANTHERS FC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Jason Statham should have stopped the shot. Valentin Gebrev scored 3-0 in the 36th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Jason Statham, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. In the 40th minute, Giorgos Bobolis left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The GREEN PANTHERS FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-1. 46 minutes into the game, SPARROWS's Yanaki Dimanov nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Jason Statham made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 4-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Minko Búrnev made a kick off. Genko Dankin took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Eustratios Saravakos, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Yanislav Plachkov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 53rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 60th minute, Valentin Gebrev hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. GREEN PANTHERS FC's Kostas Pardalakis was substituted for Periklis Tzavelas. The supporters of GREEN PANTHERS FC booed when SPARROWS was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 61 match minutes in a wonderful position. Valentin Gebrev didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 62nd match minute, SPARROWS was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Teodor Katerinski to maneuver through the defense. SPARROWS's Genko Dankin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Konstantinos Kalekas in the 65th minute of play. Jason Statham showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Minko Búrnev, who was totally free with the ball in the 66th minute. SPARROWS's Genko Dankin played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Konstantinos Kalekas in the 68th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alekos Simeonidis in the 71st minute of play forced SPARROWS's goalkeeper Genko Dankin to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to SPARROWS getting a freekick after 72 minutes play. Delyan Kovanov hit a great ball. A collision led to GREEN PANTHERS FC getting a freekick after 74 minutes play. Dimitris Rachiotis hit a great ball. In the 77th minute, Yanislav Plachkov ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Jason Statham was frozen by the shot and now it was 5-1. Jason Statham showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nacho Zegov, who was totally free with the ball in the 79th minute. Svetlozar Florov kicked well hit freekick during the 87th minute of the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Konstantinos Kalekas got free with Genko Dankin in the 88th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Konstantinos Kalekas received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 91st minute. Genko Dankin tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 92 minutes, Nacho Zegov mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the SPARROWS and the GREEN PANTHERS FC players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 92 played minutes SPARROWS got a freekick which was hit by Nacho Zegov. SPARROWS's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.