Challenge

Baltasar Lawrence
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, 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. M. Agus Young started the match with the kick off. Florentino Herauso came out of the goal in the 4th minute to try and stop a shot by USA's Cassius Byrne. But to his dismay, Cassius Byrne quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. 10 minutes into the match, Santa Lucia de Merlo's goal looked a bit too open when Cassius Byrne came free, but Florentino Herauso reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 12 minutes into the game, USA's Monty Rogers nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Florentino Herauso made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-2. The audience thought a goal was coming when M. Agus Young got free with Marco Day in the 17th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Marco Day didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from M. Agus Young went, in the 17th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-2 was the resulting score. In the 20th minute Edward Mcdonald shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Florentino Herauso saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Monty Rogers in the 23rd minute of play forced Santa Lucia de Merlo's goalkeeper Florentino Herauso to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 24 played minutes Santa Lucia de Merlo got a freekick which was hit by Arnaldo Chano. After some fancy dribbling in the 27th minute, M. Agus Young managed to get in a good position for a shot. Santa Lucia de Merlo's supporters rose to their feet, but M. Agus Young was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Marco Day breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. M. Agus Young's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Marco Day read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 29th minute of play. 34 minutes into the match, USA's goalkeeper Marco Day had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by M. Agus Young. 35 minutes into the match, Santa Lucia de Merlo's M. Agus Young sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Marco Day narrowly saved just below the crossbar. The supporters of USA booed when Santa Lucia de Merlo was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 43 match minutes in a wonderful position. Arnaldo Chano didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 45th minute, M. Agus Young got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. Disappointed in the 1-2 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 Cassius Byrne stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Cassius Byrne could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 51st minute of the match, but Florentino Herauso made a huge save. Florentino Herauso made a fantastic save in the 56th minute, when Cassius Byrne sent off a good shot on target. In the 56th minute, USA's Cassius Byrne dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-3. Santa Lucia de Merlo's Levan Poggenborg was substituted for Ermegildo Salamon. In the 62nd minute Levan Poggenborg shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marco Day saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. USA made a substitution. Sam Campbell replaced Cassius Byrne. A collision led to Santa Lucia de Merlo getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Kong Chang Zheng hit a great ball. Florentino Herauso showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Edward Mcdonald in the 68th minute of the match. In the 72nd minute, Polo Quinteros made a precise shot to the right of Marco Day. USA's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 2-3. USA made a substitution. Marco Baker replaced Edward Mcdonald. A throw-in in the 77th minute of the game was made by Diego Bradley with Khalid Parry as target, who quickly passed the ball forward. Marco Day made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Polo Quinteros in the 87th minute of play. With a little luck, Santa Lucia de Merlo's Florentino Herauso got control of the ball when Sam Campbell tried to sneak it across the goal line. When the referee blew the final whistle, you could see the dissatisfaction in the USA players' eyes. They were disappointed they hadn't taken more from the game.