U23 World League

MAURO ARENA
Spectators: 7486 (Terracing: 5615, Seating: 1722, VIP seats: 149) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Islam Slimani started the match with the kick off. When Mauro's Islam Slimani in the 6th minute got a chance for a shot 6th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Matadores FC's goalie prevented a goal. Mauro's Lu Hong Qiang played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Faustão Saldanha in the 7th minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Islam Slimani in the 11th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Paulo da Silva saved Matadores FC from getting behind. Lu Hong Qiang showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Faustão Saldanha, who was totally free with the ball in the 13th minute. Paulo da Silva made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Islam Slimani in the 30th minute of play. Paulo da Silva showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Islam Slimani, who was totally free with the ball in the 36th minute. With an all-out effort, Mauro's Paulo da Silva threw himself towards the right post 39 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Islam Slimani, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. 41 minutes into the match, Mauro's goal looked a bit too open when Faustão Saldanha came free, but Lu Hong Qiang reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The referee felt a red card was in order, 42 minutes into the game, when Wawrzyniec Bara put in a rough tackle. Matadores FC's Paulo da Silva played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Nicola Zalewski in the 46th minute of play. After a rather tough play, Matadores FC's Juvenal Sousa got a free kick in the 47th minute. Teofil Bara could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 48th minute of the match, but Paulo da Silva made a huge save. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-0 at half-time.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Flávio Tinoco stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. A collision led to Mauro getting a freekick after 52 minutes play. Teofil Bara hit a great ball. Karol Kinic might have been able to make a better finish in the 56th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Paulo da Silva. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Karol Kinic ran back to his position shaking his head. The audience was convinced that Nicola Zalewski's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Paulo da Silva was relentless in the 57th minute of the game. André Luís Silva received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 62nd minute. Lu Hong Qiang tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 64 played minutes Mauro got a freekick which was hit by Karol Kinic. Karol Kinic fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Paulo da Silva having to interfere. Karol Kinic received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 70th minute. Paulo da Silva tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After having played for 73 minutes, Karol Kinic managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Mauro's supporters crossed their fingers, but Karol Kinic was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 74th minute, Nicola Zalewski left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Mauro fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-0. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Nicola Zalewski during the 77th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Matadores FC booed when Mauro was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 78 match minutes in a wonderful position. Nicola Zalewski didn't get a good kick on the ball. After a rather tough play, Mauro's Islam Slimani got a free kick in the 80th minute. Matadores FC's Flávio Tinoco couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 81st minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Mauro. In the 84th minute Faustão Saldanha shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lu Hong Qiang saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 88th minute Flávio Tinoco shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lu Hong Qiang saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a little luck, Mauro's Lu Hong Qiang got control of the ball when Alex Félix tried to sneak it across the goal line. Karol Kinic hit a great freekick 95 minutes into the match. Mauro were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Matadores FC for a fine match.