U23 World League

NATIONAL ARENA
Spectators: 7703 (Terracing: 5779, Seating: 1771, VIP seats: 153) In the 2nd minute, Andrew Brookman made a precise shot to the right of João Massa. UFC STEAUA's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. João Massa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Clive Workman in the 5th minute of the match. After taking down the ball on Lisburn Distillery F.C.'s corner Kevin Crouch fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and João Massa quite easily take care of the ball. After a rather tough play, UFC STEAUA's Gervásio Vilhena got a free kick in the 13th minute. After 21 minutes Lisburn Distillery F.C.'s defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Nelson Mendoza who took care of the corner kick. After having played for 27 minutes, Gervásio Vilhena managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. UFC STEAUA's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gervásio Vilhena was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. João Massa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Crispin Lomas, who was totally free with the ball in the 29th minute. Andrew Brookman fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without João Massa having to interfere. In the 36th minute the ball was on its way in behind UFC STEAUA's goalkeeper João Massa, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Billy Booth sent away a hard shot on goal in the 39th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 40th match minute, UFC STEAUA was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Isaac Guipuzkoa to maneuver through the defense. After 41 played minutes, Lisburn Distillery F.C.'s Kevin Crouch shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper João Massa came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Lisburn Distillery F.C. reached it. When Gervásio Vilhena came up free with the goalie in the 42nd minute, the UFC STEAUA fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Gervásio Vilhena couldn't finish the play. The crowd rose to their feet as UFC STEAUA's Mugur Nisipeanu slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Brian Lambert. That made the score 1-1 after 47 minutes of play. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Billy Booth to make the kick off. Gervásio Vilhena fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 53rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Brian Lambert having to interfere. Brian Lambert made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nelson Mendoza in the 58th minute of play. In the 59th minute, Mugur Nisipeanu ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Brian Lambert was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-1. Nelson Mendoza received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 65th minute. Brian Lambert tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Nelson Mendoza hit a great freekick 69 minutes into the match. Brian Lambert showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mugur Nisipeanu in the 72nd minute of the match. Brian Lambert took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mugur Nisipeanu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The supporters of UFC STEAUA booed when Lisburn Distillery F.C. was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 75 match minutes in a wonderful position. Billy Booth didn't get a good kick on the ball. The supporters of UFC STEAUA booed when Lisburn Distillery F.C. was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 79 match minutes in a wonderful position. Crispin Lomas didn't get a good kick on the ball. UFC STEAUA were awarded a corner in the 83th minute after Lisburn Distillery F.C.'s defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Nelson Mendoza took the corner. The corner ended in Nelson Mendoza almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Lisburn Distillery F.C.'s Brian Lambert did a great save. 88 minutes into the match, Mugur Nisipeanu had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Brian Lambert. Lisburn Distillery F.C.'s manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Mugur Nisipeanu was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-1. UFC STEAUA's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.