Challenge

Valeska Samplezza
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Ecuador's Daniel Zorita started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's Giorgio March played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Daniel Zorita in the 5th minute of play. 8 minutes into the match, Daniel Zorita had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Giorgio March. C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Daniel Zorita was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. When Agustín Saelices came up free with the goalie in the 12th minute, the Ecuador 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 Agustín Saelices couldn't finish the play. Saul Roman was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 14th minute. C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. The audience was convinced that Christian Almkvist's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Julio Vera was relentless in the 18th minute of the game. Daniel Zorita recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 23rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Camilo Gisbert made in the 25th minute of the game a sloppy throw-in which Daniel Zorita however managed to control. Saul Roman received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 27th minute. Julio Vera tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Giorgio March showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Zorita in the 29th minute of the match. 35 minutes into the game, Agustín Saelices cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Giorgio March was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After having played for 43 minutes, Christian Almkvist managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's supporters crossed their fingers, but Christian Almkvist was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 45 minutes into the game, Camilo Gisbert was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Ecuador's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07 the free kick. The supporters of C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07 booed when Ecuador was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 45 match minutes in a wonderful position. Camilo Gisbert didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 46th minute, Christian Almkvist managed to get in a good position for a shot. C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's supporters rose to their feet, but Christian Almkvist was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Julio Vera breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Christian Almkvist stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Giorgio March showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cristian Sancho in the 57th minute of the match. Saul Roman charged in rather forcefully in the 62nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Saul Roman the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 62 played minutes C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07 got a freekick which was hit by Saul Roman. C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's Victor Unesson was substituted for Alvar Llinares. After a rather tough play, C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's Saul Roman got a free kick in the 63rd minute. 66 minutes into the match, C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07's Christian Almkvist sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Julio Vera narrowly saved just below the crossbar. After 69 minutes Ecuador's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Saul Roman who took care of the corner kick. Keno Cantona was in a good position and managed to take a shot, but he missed just to the outside of the post. Indar Albizua might have been able to make a better finish in the 75th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Julio Vera. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Indar Albizua ran back to his position shaking his head. In the 80th minute, Indar Albizua left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07 fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-2. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cristian Sancho got free with Giorgio March in the 85th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 90th minute Saul Roman shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Julio Vera saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ecuador played a much better game than C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07 and deserved their victory. The C.Atl.Torre Monreal 07 players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.