U18 World League

Oscar A. Ruggeri
Spectators: 7678 (Terracing: 5759, Seating: 1766, VIP seats: 153) FC Kopenalguen's Bruno Maiorga started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Goliath Mediano charged in rather forcefully in the 10th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Goliath Mediano the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Deportivo Rodriguez getting a freekick after 10 minutes play. Goliath Mediano hit a great ball. 12 minutes into the match, Eric Malone notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of FC Kopenalguen's Mariano Musko. Mariano Musko was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Roosevelt Sullivan received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 18th minute. Mariano Musko tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Victorino Oliviero sent away a hard shot on goal in the 20th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Goliath Gigante fell near the penalty area in the 23rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Deportivo Rodriguez's protests and gave Goliath Gigante a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Deportivo Rodriguez getting a freekick after 23 minutes play. Goliath Gigante hit a great ball. When Roosevelt Sullivan fell near the penalty area in the 39th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Deportivo Rodriguez's protests and gave Roosevelt Sullivan a yellow card for diving instead. Deportivo Rodriguez's Roosevelt Sullivan got his second yellow card of the match in the 41st minute. The referee ordered Roosevelt Sullivan off the ground. After a rather tough play, Deportivo Rodriguez's Roosevelt Sullivan got a free kick in the 42nd minute. Goliath Mediano was shown his second yellow card after 45 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. 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.

After a rather tough play, Deportivo Rodriguez's Raymond Arrington got a free kick in the 53rd minute. 57 minutes into the match, Deportivo Rodriguez's goal looked a bit too open when Bruno Maiorga came free, but Ivan Lucero reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ivan Lucero showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bruno Maiorga in the 62nd minute of the match. 66 minutes into the match, Celedonio Orixe had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ivan Lucero. Deportivo Rodriguez's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Celedonio Orixe was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-1. Bruno Maiorga might have been able to make a better finish in the 71st minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Ivan Lucero. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Bruno Maiorga ran back to his position shaking his head. With a little luck, FC Kopenalguen's Mariano Musko got control of the ball when Eric Malone tried to sneak it across the goal line. Ivan Lucero took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Bruno Maiorga, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ivan Lucero made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Celedonio Orixe in the 89th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Apolo Quentin in the 94th minute of play forced Deportivo Rodriguez's goalkeeper Ivan Lucero to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 95 minutes into the match, Bruno Maiorga notched a goal, 4-1, to the right of Deportivo Rodriguez's Ivan Lucero. Ivan Lucero was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Deportivo Rodriguez's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.