Challenge

SC Braga Arena
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Leal Antas started the match with the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tomas Illescas in the 3rd minute of play forced SC Braga's goalkeeper Adelino Coelho to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Moisés Álvares during the 18th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Moisés Álvares hit a great freekick 18 minutes into the match. Tomas Illescas received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 20th minute. Adelino Coelho tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 29 minutes into the match, Tomas Illescas notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of SC Braga's Adelino Coelho. Adelino Coelho was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Tomas Illescas sent away a hard shot on goal in the 34th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 36th minute of the match, managed to save Venezuela from getting a goal against them. SC Braga's Adelino Coelho played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tomas Illescas in the 37th minute of play. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 1-2.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Tomas Illescas to strike the kick off in the second half. Venezuela's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Tomas Illescas in the 55th minute. The corner led Venezuela's Tomas Illescas to fire away a dangerous shot which Adelino Coelho despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. Adelino Coelho made an important save on a dangerous shot by Tomas Illescas in the 61st minute. Tomas Illescas was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 64th minute. Venezuela's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. In the 66th minute the ball was on its way in behind Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 73rd minute Caetano Coutinho shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jonathan Ferrant saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Leal Antas in the 77th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Jonathan Ferrant saved Venezuela from getting behind. Tomas Illescas might have been able to make a better finish in the 79th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Adelino Coelho. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Tomas Illescas ran back to his position shaking his head. After a defensive mix-up in Venezuela's zone, Caetano Coutinho stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Jonathan Ferrant came out of the goal and Caetano Coutinho tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 95 minutes into the game, Leal Antas was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. SC Braga's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Venezuela the free kick. In the 95th minute, Leal Antas hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Venezuela walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.