Challenge

El Potrero
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Joel Gaona got the match started through his kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nicolas Estevez in the 5th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 12 minutes into the match, Mexico's goal looked a bit too open when Han Xiang Ang came free, but Dante Lacasa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 14th minute Los Golosos were awarded a corner. Meng Shi Peng went to the cornerflag to take it. Los Golosos's Aurelio Valeriani played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Lautaro Mancebo in the 16th minute of play. After 20 minutes, Osvaldo Ubarna mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Los Golosos and the Mexico players grew even worse after the yellow card. After a rather tough play, Los Golosos's Osvaldo Ubarna got a free kick in the 21st minute. After some careless play in the Los Golosos defense, Alberto Tafalla kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Aurelio Valeriani. The Los Golosos fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Aurelio Valeriani should have stopped the shot. Los Golosos's Aurelio Valeriani played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Joel Gaona in the 26th minute of play. After 27 minutes Los Golosos's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Joel Gaona who took care of the corner kick. Aurelio Valeriani showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Joel Gaona, who was totally free with the ball in the 29th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nicolas Estevez in the 33rd minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Aurelio Valeriani showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lautaro Mancebo in the 36th minute of the match. Dante Lacasa was a little too slow when Nicolas Estevez got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 38th minute. The score was now 1-1. A collision led to Los Golosos getting a freekick after 40 minutes play. Herbert Ziombkowski hit a great ball. Meng Shi Peng recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 43rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. A collision led to Mexico getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Felix Luque hit a great ball. Meng Shi Peng struck a weak shot in the 47th minute. Dante Lacasa didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Los Golosos.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Adrian Transito was the one to do the kick off. Nicolas Estevez received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 51st minute. Dante Lacasa tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 55th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Aurelio Valeriani saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 56 minutes into the match, Joel Gaona had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Aurelio Valeriani. Los Golosos's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Joel Gaona was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-2. Mexico's Joel Gaona got a good chance for a goal in the 60th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. If Aristides Fortun had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lautaro Mancebo got free with Aurelio Valeriani in the 76th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Aurelio Valeriani made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alberto Tafalla in the 78th minute of play. In the 80th minute, Mexico's Joel Gaona dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-3. Lautaro Mancebo received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 83rd minute. Aurelio Valeriani tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 90 minutes into the match, Mexico's goal looked a bit too open when Meng Shi Peng came free, but Dante Lacasa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Joel Gaona might have been able to make a better finish in the 92nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Aurelio Valeriani. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Joel Gaona ran back to his position shaking his head. When Alberto Tafalla came up free with the goalie in the 96th minute, the Mexico fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Alberto Tafalla couldn't finish the play. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Mexico walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.