Challenge

Bombonera Stadium
Spectators: 41 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Joel Gaona kicked off to start the match. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Miguel Nicolau during the 2nd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Mexico booed when La Candela FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 3 match minutes in a wonderful position. Miguel Nicolau didn't get a good kick on the ball. 5 minutes into the match, La Candela FC's goal looked a bit too open when Joel Gaona came free, but Ruben Sánchez reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 6th minute Alberto Tafalla shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ruben Sánchez saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Mexico's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Joel Gaona in the 7th minute. After taking down the ball on Mexico's corner Joel Gaona fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Ruben Sánchez quite easily take care of the ball. 9 minutes into the game, Alberto Tafalla cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Ruben Sánchez was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. An unexpectedly hard shot by Martin Palermo in the 11th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Dante Lacasa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Martin Palermo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Dante Lacasa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Martin Palermo, who was totally free with the ball in the 15th minute. Osvaldo Potente could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 17th minute of the match, but Dante Lacasa made a huge save. The supporters of Mexico booed when La Candela FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 18 match minutes in a wonderful position. Roberto Rogel didn't get a good kick on the ball. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Martin Palermo in the 22nd minute of the match. In the 24th minute, Osvaldo Potente ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Dante Lacasa was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. Miguel Nicolau kicked well hit freekick during the 27th minute of the match. In the 29th minute Lautaro Mancebo shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ruben Sánchez saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ruben Sánchez 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 30th minute. When La Candela FC's Martin Palermo in the 32nd minute got a chance for a shot 32nd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Mexico's goalie prevented a goal. After a defensive mix-up in Mexico's zone, Martin Palermo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Dante Lacasa came out of the goal and Martin Palermo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Mexico's Dante Lacasa proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 37th minute of the match, managed to save Mexico from getting a goal against them. La Candela FC's Ruben Sánchez played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Joel Gaona in the 38th minute of play. In the 40th minute, Mexico's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Osvaldo Potente fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. After 41 played minutes La Candela FC got a freekick which was hit by Sebastián Battaglia. Mexico's Dante Lacasa proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 43rd minute of the match, managed to save Mexico from getting a goal against them. Osvaldo Potente kicked well hit freekick during the 44th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rubén-Darío Feldmann in the 46th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 48th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ruben Sánchez saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Martin Palermo to make the kick off. Lautaro Mancebo came free with the goalkeeper in the 51st minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Ruben Sánchez could save by the left post. A nice corner shot did that Joel Gaona got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Ruben Sánchez quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. 54 minutes into the match, Mexico's goal looked a bit too open when Sebastián Battaglia came free, but Dante Lacasa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. La Candela FC's Ruben Sánchez played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alberto Tafalla in the 55th minute of play. After 57 played minutes Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Joel Gaona. An unexpectedly hard shot by Joel Gaona in the 60th minute of play forced La Candela FC's goalkeeper Ruben Sánchez to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ruben Sánchez came out of the goal in the 60th minute to try and stop a shot by Mexico's Joel Gaona. But to his dismay, Joel Gaona quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-2. In the 66th match minute, La Candela FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Miguel Nicolau to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rubén-Darío Feldmann in the 71st minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 72 played minutes La Candela FC got a freekick which was hit by Nahuel Molina. An unexpectedly hard shot by Joel Gaona in the 81st minute of play forced La Candela FC's goalkeeper Ruben Sánchez to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 83 minutes into the match, La Candela FC's goalkeeper Ruben Sánchez had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Lautaro Mancebo. Ruben Sánchez took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Gaona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Mexico's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Joel Gaona in the 91st minute. Dante Lacasa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gabi Batistuta, who was totally free with the ball in the 92nd minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gabi Batistuta in the 94th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 95th match minute, La Candela FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Gabi Batistuta to maneuver through the defense. The Mexico players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.