Challenge

Starše Park
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Dorjan Budal kicked off to start the match. The audience was convinced that Dorjan Budal's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Jacobo Nores was relentless in the 4th minute of the game. Jacobo Nores came out of the goal in the 7th minute to try and stop a shot by Bayer Leverkusen's Naim Stanišič. But to his dismay, Naim Stanišič quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-0. Sreta Gorše showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Jaime Pardo in the 11th minute of the match. Naim Stanišič received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 12th minute. Jacobo Nores tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Sreta Gorše showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jaime Pardo, who was totally free with the ball in the 20th minute. Bayer Leverkusen's Lazar Topolovec suffered a sore thigh after 28 minutes and couldn't finish the game. Bayer Leverkusen made a substitution. Juš Smodiš replaced Lazar Topolovec. After 29 played minutes Paraguay got a freekick which was hit by Hector Covarrubias. Naim Stanišič received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 32nd minute. Jacobo Nores tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 36 minutes into the match, Jaime Pardo had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Sreta Gorše. Bayer Leverkusen's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Jaime Pardo was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-1. The supporters of Paraguay booed when Bayer Leverkusen was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 38 match minutes in a wonderful position. Rašid Uršič didn't get a good kick on the ball. A sloppy throw-in by Enej Stermec in the 40th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Paraguay's Xavier Zoido. After 41 played minutes Bayer Leverkusen got a freekick which was hit by Juš Smodiš. Jaime Pardo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

After a rather tough play, Paraguay's Jaime Pardo got a free kick in the 52nd minute. Eldin Kuzele kicked well hit freekick during the 55th minute of the match. Jaime Pardo fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 61st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Sreta Gorše having to interfere. After having played for 67 minutes, Hector Covarrubias managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Paraguay's supporters crossed their fingers, but Hector Covarrubias was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. When Juš Smodiš fell near the penalty area in the 72nd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Bayer Leverkusen's protests and gave Juš Smodiš a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Bayer Leverkusen getting a freekick after 72 minutes play. Juš Smodiš hit a great ball. When Eldin Kuzele fell near the penalty area in the 73rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Bayer Leverkusen's protests and gave Eldin Kuzele a yellow card for diving instead. After 73 played minutes Bayer Leverkusen got a freekick which was hit by Eldin Kuzele. When Jaime Pardo came up free with the goalie in the 73rd minute, the Paraguay 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 Jaime Pardo couldn't finish the play. Jacobo Nores took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dorjan Budal, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 77 minutes into the game, Enej Stermec threw the ball into play from the sideline. Paraguay's Hector Covarrubias quickly snatched the ball and retained possesion. Jacobo Nores stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Dorjan Budal's shot from short distance in the 79th minute. Dorjan Budal's late challenge caught a Paraguay's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Dorjan Budal helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Bayer Leverkusen's Dorjan Budal got a free kick in the 81st minute. Hector Covarrubias sent away a hard shot on goal in the 82nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Sreta Gorše took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Jaime Pardo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a defensive mix-up in Bayer Leverkusen's zone, Primitivo Escribano stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Sreta Gorše came out of the goal and Primitivo Escribano tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 89 minutes of play, Paraguay's Jaime Pardo made it 1-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Sreta Gorše was left in no man's land by his defense there! After a defensive mix-up in Bayer Leverkusen's zone, Hector Covarrubias stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Sreta Gorše came out of the goal and Hector Covarrubias tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Raul Venegas kicked well hit freekick during the 95th minute of the match. When the match was over Paraguay could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Bayer Leverkusen throughout the match.