National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725,
Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Velcho Tzintzov made the kick off which started today's match. In the 2nd minute, Cleto Barea hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. U21 Argentina's Nemesio Baladi played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Velcho Tzintzov in the 3rd minute of play. If Robert Lewandowski had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 9th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Robert Lewandowski got free with Lilcho Arsov in the 9th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Cleto Barea's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Lilcho Arsov firmly grabbed it by the left post. Cleto Barea recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 20th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cleto Barea got free with Lilcho Arsov in the 25th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. A collision led to U21 Bulgaria getting a freekick after 26 minutes play. Sava Dodov hit a great ball. 29 minutes into the match, Robert Lewandowski notched a goal, 1-0, to the right of U21 Bulgaria's Lilcho Arsov. Lilcho Arsov was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. An unexpectedly hard shot by Velcho Tzintzov in the 33rd minute of play forced U21 Argentina's goalkeeper Nemesio Baladi to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When the match had gone on for 34 minutes, Robert Lewandowski took a quick shot and it went in 2-0 without a chance for Lilcho Arsov to make any attempt to save it. Lilcho Arsov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Robert Lewandowski's shot from short distance in the 38th minute. In the 39th minute of the match U21 Argentina got a corner. U21 Bulgaria's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Cleto Barea ran over to the corner to take the kick. After taking down the ball on U21 Argentina's corner Cleto Barea fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Lilcho Arsov quite easily take care of the ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Christian Romero in the 40th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Lilcho Arsov saved U21 Bulgaria from getting behind. Nemesio Baladi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Sava Dodov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Robert Lewandowski in the 44th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Lilcho Arsov prevented the ball from getting in the gole. In the 47th minute, U21 Argentina's Robert Lewandowski ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Lilcho Arsov. Lilcho Arsov yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 3-0. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 3-0 at half-time.
The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Robert Lewandowski stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. 52 minutes into the match, U21 Argentina's goal looked a bit too open when Sava Dodov came free, but Nemesio Baladi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 57th minute, Robert Lewandowski made a precise shot to the right of Lilcho Arsov. U21 Bulgaria's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 4-0. U21 Argentina made a substitution. Hugo Casomiro replaced Cleto Barea. U21 Argentina's Bernardino Vedillo was substituted for Robert Lewandowski. U21 Argentina's Nemesio Baladi played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sava Dodov in the 62nd minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Christian Romero in the 64th minute of play forced U21 Bulgaria's goalkeeper Lilcho Arsov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 71st minute Hugo Casomiro shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lilcho Arsov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Lilcho Arsov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bernardino Vedillo in the 76th minute of play. Lilcho Arsov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bernardino Vedillo in the 76th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hugo Casomiro in the 77th minute of play forced U21 Bulgaria's goalkeeper Lilcho Arsov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The referee felt a red card was in order, 78 minutes into the game, when Stoimen Neshov put in a rough tackle. After a rather tough play, U21 Bulgaria's Stoimen Neshov got a free kick in the 79th minute. U21 Bulgaria's Nikola Kotkov was substituted for Vladko Pipkov. U21 Bulgaria's Dragan Hristozov was substituted for Velislav Tzapov. 81 minutes into the match, U21 Bulgaria's goal looked a bit too open when Christian Romero came free, but Lilcho Arsov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Lilcho Arsov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bernardino Vedillo in the 83rd minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Hugo Casomiro in the 84th minute of play forced U21 Bulgaria's goalkeeper Lilcho Arsov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some careless play in the U21 Bulgaria defense, Hugo Casomiro kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Lilcho Arsov. The U21 Bulgaria fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Lilcho Arsov should have stopped the shot. Bozhko Shtúrkelov might have been able to make a better finish in the 90th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Nemesio Baladi. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Bozhko Shtúrkelov ran back to his position shaking his head. Nemesio Baladi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bozhko Shtúrkelov in the 92nd minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Hugo Casomiro in the 97th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Lilcho Arsov saved U21 Bulgaria from getting behind.
The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The U21 Argentina fans cheered their team off the field, for while U21 Bulgaria had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.
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