U23 World League

Juan F. Barraza
Spectators: 7504 (Terracing: 5629, Seating: 1726, VIP seats: 149) Gerardo Beila showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Libardo Fuentes, who was totally free with the ball in the 2nd minute. 6 minutes into the match, AFC FUSION's goal looked a bit too open when Alberto Pineda came free, but Gerardo Beila reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 9 minutes into the match, Club Deportivo Águila's goal looked a bit too open when Agustin Furtado came free, but Ricardo Peña reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 10 minutes Club Deportivo Águila's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Silvestre Veronica who took care of the corner kick. AFC FUSION's Silvestre Veronica was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Ricardo Peña in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. AFC FUSION's Gerardo Beila played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Baltazar Del Cid in the 13th minute of play. 19 minutes into the game, Agustin Furtado cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Ricardo Peña was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After a rather tough play, AFC FUSION's Carmelo Brais got a free kick in the 21st minute. After having played for 23 minutes, Agustin Furtado managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. AFC FUSION's supporters crossed their fingers, but Agustin Furtado was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. A collision led to Club Deportivo Águila getting a freekick after 26 minutes play. Efrain Orobio hit a great ball. 33 minutes into the match, Agustin Furtado had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ricardo Peña. Club Deportivo Águila's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Agustin Furtado was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-2. If Agustin Furtado had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 42nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Disappointed in the 1-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Agustin Furtado to make the kick off. In the 54th match minute, AFC FUSION was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Zacarias Silbestre to maneuver through the defense. Agustin Furtado struck a weak shot in the 57th minute. Ricardo Peña didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for AFC FUSION. The supporters of Club Deportivo Águila booed when AFC FUSION was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 61 match minutes in a wonderful position. Cristobal Bermudez didn't get a good kick on the ball. Gerardo Beila showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Libardo Fuentes in the 64th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Baltazar Del Cid in the 69th minute of play forced AFC FUSION's goalkeeper Gerardo Beila to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Gerardo Beila made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alberto Pineda in the 70th minute of play. Agustin Furtado scored 1-4 in the 71st match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Ricardo Peña, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. 76 minutes into the match, AFC FUSION's Agustin Furtado sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Ricardo Peña narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Club Deportivo Águila's Ricardo Peña played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Agustin Furtado in the 79th minute of play. In the 80th minute AFC FUSION were awarded a corner. Silvestre Veronica went to the cornerflag to take it. A nice corner shot did that Silvestre Veronica got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Ricardo Peña quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Club Deportivo Águila's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Baltazar Del Cid in the 86th minute. A nice corner shot did that Baltazar Del Cid got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Gerardo Beila quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Ricardo Peña made an important save on a dangerous shot by Agustin Furtado in the 88th minute. Club Deportivo Águila's Libardo Fuentes got a good chance for a goal in the 90th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. A collision led to AFC FUSION getting a freekick after 94 minutes play. Zacarias Silbestre hit a great ball. Gerardo Beila made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Libardo Fuentes in the 95th minute of play. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. AFC FUSION walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.