U23 World League

Martin Palermo
Spectators: 7719 (Terracing: 5790, Seating: 1775, VIP seats: 154) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Luis Santana made the kick off which started today's match. Tor Rosenlund showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Hjalmar Kråk, who was totally free with the ball in the 9th minute. After 22 minutes of play, Santa Maradona's Luis Santana made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Rune Grep was left in no man's land by his defense there! 26 minutes into the match, Lirarnas Lag's Jean-Pascal Bellefeuille sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Tor Rosenlund narrowly saved just below the crossbar. If Cecilio Ubarna had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 28th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Jean-Pascal Bellefeuille's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Tor Rosenlund read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 37th minute of play. Lirarnas Lag were awarded a corner in the 38th minute after Santa Maradona's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Hjalmar Kråk took the corner. After taking down the ball on Lirarnas Lag's corner Hjalmar Kråk fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Tor Rosenlund quite easily take care of the ball. After 41 played minutes Lirarnas Lag got a freekick which was hit by Pang Hai Yue. Cecilio Ubarna could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 42nd minute of the match, but Rune Grep made a huge save. After some careless play in the Santa Maradona defense, Jean-Pascal Bellefeuille kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Tor Rosenlund. The Santa Maradona fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Tor Rosenlund should have stopped the shot. Cecilio Ubarna received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 48th minute. Rune Grep tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 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.

Lirarnas Lag's Rune Grep played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cecilio Ubarna in the 54th minute of play. Harald Axelsson charged in rather forcefully in the 55th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Harald Axelsson the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Santa Maradona booed when Lirarnas Lag was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 55 match minutes in a wonderful position. Harald Axelsson didn't get a good kick on the ball. Alessio Cinalli kicked well hit freekick during the 56th minute of the match. Hjalmar Kråk could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 60th minute of the match, but Tor Rosenlund made a huge save. Samuel Refugio charged in rather forcefully in the 67th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Samuel Refugio the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Lirarnas Lag booed when Santa Maradona was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 67 match minutes in a wonderful position. Samuel Refugio didn't get a good kick on the ball. 67 minutes into the match, Hjalmar Kråk sent off a long shot that looked like it was going straight into the goal, but because Tor Rosenlund threw himself in his full length he managed to grip the ball by the left post, and there was no goal for Hjalmar Kråk this time. After having played for 68 minutes, Hjalmar Kråk managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Lirarnas Lag's supporters crossed their fingers, but Hjalmar Kråk was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Hjalmar Kråk fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 71st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Tor Rosenlund having to interfere. A collision led to Lirarnas Lag getting a freekick after 75 minutes play. Hjalmar Kråk hit a great ball. In the 77th minute of the match, Jean-Pascal Bellefeuille tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Tor Rosenlund saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cecilio Ubarna in the 81st minute of play forced Lirarnas Lag's goalkeeper Rune Grep to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 84th minute Lirarnas Lag were awarded a corner. Hjalmar Kråk went to the cornerflag to take it. A well done corner resulted in Harald Axelsson drilling the ball in to score 1-3 behind Santa Maradona's goalkeeper. The supporters of Santa Maradona booed when Lirarnas Lag was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 89 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alessio Cinalli didn't get a good kick on the ball. Rune Grep showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Luis Santana, who was totally free with the ball in the 91st minute. After some careless play in the Santa Maradona defense, Jean-Pascal Bellefeuille kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Tor Rosenlund. The Santa Maradona fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Tor Rosenlund should have stopped the shot. Lirarnas Lag were delighted with the way they had won the match. They had held their defensive line well and made the most of their chances, to claim a victory over Santa Maradona's much stronger midfield.