U18 World League

LA ESTANCIA
Spectators: 7658 (Terracing: 5745, Seating: 1761, VIP seats: 152) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Celedonio Prejun started the match with the kick off. Gerardo Arnau showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Aldo Melo in the 4th minute of the match. When the match clock showed 5 minutes, the score became 0-1 when Gil Simões sped through Northern California's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Gerardo Arnau. After a defensive mix-up in Northern California's zone, Aldo Melo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gerardo Arnau came out of the goal and Aldo Melo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Celedonio Prejun in the 10th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Jorge Montenegro saved PLURAL from getting behind. In the game's 14th minute Northern California's Carmelo Oihan took a hard shot from long distance, a kick which went into the net just to the right of Jorge Montenegro and thus the score was 1-1. 16 minutes into the game, Gil Simões was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. PLURAL's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Northern California the free kick. Maximino Lawrence hit a great freekick 20 minutes into the match. Celedonio Prejun sent away a hard shot on goal in the 23rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 28th minute, Gil Simões 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. The Northern California fans' excitement grew in the 29th match minute when Northern California's Celedonio Prejun looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 2-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. 37 minutes had been played when some careless play by PLURAL's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Carmelo Oihan was slow to take the kick. During this time Northern California's players had a chance to rest. A well-hit corner resulted in Aurelio Quinteros heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. In the 39th minute, Antonio Mendebal hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Caio Caiado during the 43rd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After a rather tough play, PLURAL's Caio Caiado got a free kick in the 43rd minute. PLURAL's Jorge Montenegro played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Celedonio Prejun in the 47th minute of play. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 2-1.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Gil Simões to make the kick off. With his leg Gerardo Arnau managed to avoid a goal in the 53rdth minute, when PLURAL's Gil Simões fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. A collision led to Northern California getting a freekick after 55 minutes play. Maximino Lawrence hit a great ball. After 57 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Northern California! In the 65th minute, Aldo Melo hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 74th minute Northern California were awarded a corner. Carmelo Oihan went to the cornerflag to take it. The corner ended in Carmelo Oihan almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but PLURAL's Jorge Montenegro did a great save. Gil Simões sent away a hard shot on goal in the 87th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 89 played minutes Northern California got a freekick which was hit by Dalmacio Papo. In the 92nd match minute, PLURAL was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Caio Caiado to maneuver through the defense. Gerardo Arnau made an important save on a dangerous shot by Gil Simões in the 98th minute. The PLURAL players were the happier at the end of the match as they had prevented Northern California from taking control. The game ends in a draw.