U21 World League

Camp de Mestalla
Spectators: 8065 (Terracing: 6050, Seating: 1855, VIP seats: 160) Absoliut's Arūnas Murza 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. A collision led to Valencia C.F. getting a freekick after 2 minutes play. Lennie Wedlock hit a great ball. Arūnas Murza struck a weak shot in the 4th minute. Andoni Zubizarreta didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Absoliut. 8 minutes into the match, Jonny Logan notched a goal, 1-0, to the right of Absoliut's Vaclovas Jurkus. Vaclovas Jurkus was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. An unexpectedly hard shot by Florentin Gougeon in the 14th minute of play forced Absoliut's goalkeeper Vaclovas Jurkus to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Arūnas Murza received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 15th minute. Andoni Zubizarreta tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience was convinced that Arūnas Murza's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Andoni Zubizarreta was relentless in the 17th minute of the game. The Absoliut fans' excitement grew in the 17th match minute when Absoliut's Arūnas Murza 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 1-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Andoni Zubizarreta showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Valdas Ivanauskas, who was totally free with the ball in the 21st minute. In the 24th minute, Colin Buckler made a precise shot to the right of Vaclovas Jurkus. Absoliut's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 2-1. Andoni Zubizarreta took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Albinas Vaitiekus, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 29th minute of the match Absoliut got a corner. Valencia C.F.'s goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Caio Freitas ran over to the corner to take the kick. Valencia C.F.'s Andoni Zubizarreta played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Zigmantas Norkevičius in the 31st minute of play. With a little luck, Absoliut's Vaclovas Jurkus got control of the ball when Florentin Gougeon tried to sneak it across the goal line. Zigmantas Norkevičius scored 2-2 in the 34th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Andoni Zubizarreta, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The first half was very even, with the score at 2-2 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Jonny Logan stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 53rd minute, Colin Buckler hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Lennie Wedlock's late challenge caught a Absoliut's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Lennie Wedlock helped the player get up and apologised. In the 55th minute, Lennie Wedlock hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Marius Stankevičius kicked well hit freekick during the 59th minute of the match. A collision led to Absoliut getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Henrikas Radeikis hit a great ball. In the 63rd minute Jonny Logan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Vaclovas Jurkus saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Vaclovas Jurkus took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Florentin Gougeon, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a little luck, Valencia C.F.'s Andoni Zubizarreta got control of the ball when Arūnas Murza tried to sneak it across the goal line. Absoliut's Vladas Melekša was substituted for Henrikas Radeikis. In the 71st match minute, Absoliut was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Arūnas Murza to maneuver through the defense. Vaclovas Jurkus showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Florentin Gougeon, who was totally free with the ball in the 73rd minute. 79 minutes into the match, Valencia C.F.'s goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Arūnas Murza. Vaclovas Jurkus came out of the goal in the 87th minute to try and stop a shot by Valencia C.F.'s Jonny Logan. But to his dismay, Jonny Logan quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 3-3. Andoni Zubizarreta made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Valdas Ivanauskas in the 91st minute of play. After 93 played minutes Absoliut got a freekick which was hit by Albinas Gudauskas. 93 minutes into the match, Valencia C.F.'s Florentin Gougeon broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal.