U23 World League

GENTI KULE
Spectators: 7402 (Terracing: 5612, Seating: 1720, VIP seats: 70) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Nikos Kalkavouras took the kick off in the first half of the match. If Eurico Batista had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 2nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Niceto Xacintu received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 7th minute. Theofanis Marinakis tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Victor de Salles blasted a shot towards the goal in the 10th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Theofanis Marinakis having to make a save. ΟΦΗ's Theofanis Marinakis played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Eurico Batista in the 22nd minute of play. After 25 played minutes ΟΦΗ got a freekick which was hit by Babbis Prokos. In the 26th minute Victor de Salles shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Theofanis Marinakis saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 27th minute the ball was on its way in behind ΟΦΗ's goalkeeper Theofanis Marinakis, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After having played for 33 minutes, Niceto Xacintu managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Flying Dutch's supporters crossed their fingers, but Niceto Xacintu was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Niceto Xacintu in the 39th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Theofanis Marinakis prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After 40 minutes ΟΦΗ's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Eurico Batista who took care of the corner kick. In the 41st minute, Sofoklis Stathatos hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 42 minutes into the match, ΟΦΗ's goal looked a bit too open when Niceto Xacintu came free, but Theofanis Marinakis reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 44thth minute of the game Niceto Xacintu who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but ΟΦΗ's Theofanis Marinakis was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. In the 45th minute Niceto Xacintu shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Theofanis Marinakis saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After some fancy dribbling in the 47th minute, Victor de Salles managed to get in a good position for a shot. Flying Dutch's supporters rose to their feet, but Victor de Salles was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Theofanis Marinakis breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The wind increased when Niceto Xacintu made the kick off in the second half. Victor de Salles did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 0-2 to the left of a surprised Theofanis Marinakis 55 minutes into the match. Niceto Xacintu took the ball and in the 58 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Theofanis Marinakis. Theofanis Marinakis dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-3. With his leg Theofanis Marinakis managed to avoid a goal in the 62ndth minute, when Flying Dutch's Niceto Xacintu fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. A collision led to ΟΦΗ getting a freekick after 63 minutes play. Sakis Velakoglou hit a great ball. In the 64th minute Victor de Salles shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Theofanis Marinakis saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in ΟΦΗ's zone, Niceto Xacintu stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Theofanis Marinakis came out of the goal and Niceto Xacintu tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Nikos Kalkavouras in the 85th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Arthur Amorim saved Flying Dutch from getting behind. In the 88th minute, Niceto Xacintu ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Theofanis Marinakis was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-4. Theofanis Marinakis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Róbson Lima in the 96th minute of the match. The Flying Dutch players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.