U23 World League

Andrés Murillo
Spectators: 7507 (Terracing: 5631, Seating: 1726, VIP seats: 150) John Villalon made the kick off and thus started the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Aleksey Efimov in the 4th minute of play forced Tapa Red F.C's goalkeeper Tuncer Polathan to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Kolopetinitsa's attentive Daniil Panagopoulos managed to snatch the ball when Kang Sen Xu made a throw-in in the 7th minute of the game. Stergios Samartzis took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from John Villalon, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Spyros Papazoglou kicked well hit freekick during the 16th minute of the match. Kolopetinitsa's Stergios Samartzis proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 17th minute of the match, managed to save Kolopetinitsa from getting a goal against them. Kang Sen Xu fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 25th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Stergios Samartzis having to interfere. The audience was convinced that Sokratis Kagiasis's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Tuncer Polathan was relentless in the 29th minute of the game. Tuncer Polathan made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sokratis Kagiasis in the 31st minute of play. Tapa Red F.C's John Villalon got a good chance for a goal in the 33rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Stergios Samartzis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from John Villalon in the 35th minute of the match. John Villalon blasted a shot towards the goal in the 37th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Stergios Samartzis having to make a save. Spyros Papazoglou's late challenge caught a Tapa Red F.C's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Spyros Papazoglou helped the player get up and apologised. Spyros Papazoglou kicked well hit freekick during the 44th minute of the match. Tuncer Polathan stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Aleksey Efimov's shot from short distance in the 47th minute.

The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Tiago Herro during the 54th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Tiago Herro kicked well hit freekick during the 54th minute of the match. Stergios Samartzis made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from John Villalon in the 56th minute of play. A collision led to Kolopetinitsa getting a freekick after 59 minutes play. Spyros Papazoglou hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Aleksey Efimov in the 66th minute of play forced Tapa Red F.C's goalkeeper Tuncer Polathan to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. John Villalon sent away a hard shot on goal in the 69th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. If John Villalon had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 72nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Kolopetinitsa's Spyros Papazoglou got his second yellow card of the match in the 74th minute. The referee ordered Spyros Papazoglou off the ground. After 74 played minutes Kolopetinitsa got a freekick which was hit by Spyros Papazoglou. Sokratis Kagiasis's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Tuncer Polathan read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 82nd minute of play. Through an outstanding action, after 83 minutes, Tuncer Polathan successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Tuncer Polathan showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Sokratis Kagiasis, who was totally free with the ball in the 84th minute. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Sokratis Kagiasis in the 92nd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Tuncer Polathan prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After a defensive mix-up in Tapa Red F.C's zone, Aleksey Efimov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Tuncer Polathan came out of the goal and Aleksey Efimov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Kolopetinitsa eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.