Challenge

Francisco Coniglio
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Caricancha's Marco van Nistelrooij 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. In the 3rd minute Felix Montenegro shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Amado Gamus saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 4 minutes into the game, Ecuador's Cristian Sancho nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Amado Gamus made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. With an all-out effort, Caricancha's Julio Vera threw himself towards the right post 9 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Marco van Nistelrooij, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Cristian Sancho blasted a shot towards the goal in the 14th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Amado Gamus having to make a save. Amado Gamus showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Zorita in the 16th minute of the match. Ecuador were awarded a corner in the 17th minute after Caricancha's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Daniel Zorita took the corner. A well-hit corner resulted in Luis Andino heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. Joel Artaldo received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 20th minute. Julio Vera tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. In the 21st minute Marco van Nistelrooij 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. After having played for 24 minutes, Marco van Nistelrooij managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Caricancha's supporters crossed their fingers, but Marco van Nistelrooij was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Amado Gamus showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cristian Sancho, who was totally free with the ball in the 26th minute. Julio Vera made a fantastic save in the 29th minute, when Astor Senio sent off a good shot on target. Amado Gamus made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daniel Zorita in the 30th minute of play. Ecuador's Julio Vera proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 31st minute of the match, managed to save Ecuador from getting a goal against them. 34 minutes into the game, Cristian Sancho cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-2. Amado Gamus was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. When Daniel Zorita came up free with the goalie in the 39th 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 Daniel Zorita couldn't finish the play. Caricancha's Amado Gamus played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cristian Sancho in the 41st minute of play. Amado Gamus took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cristian Sancho, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Daniel Zorita sent away a hard shot on goal in the 44th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

The wind increased when Daniel Zorita made the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Muni Forró in the 52nd minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Cristian Sancho could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 56th minute of the match, but Amado Gamus made a huge save. Amado Gamus took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cristian Sancho, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Amado Gamus made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cristian Sancho in the 69th minute of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 72nd minute, Joel Artaldo managed to get in a good position for a shot. Caricancha's supporters rose to their feet, but Joel Artaldo 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. When Daniel Zorita came up free with the goalie in the 76th 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 Daniel Zorita couldn't finish the play. When Muni Forró came up free with the goalie in the 80th minute, the Caricancha 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 Muni Forró couldn't finish the play. After having played for 93 minutes, Marco van Nistelrooij managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Caricancha's supporters crossed their fingers, but Marco van Nistelrooij was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The audience was convinced that Marco van Nistelrooij's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Julio Vera was relentless in the 95th minute of the game. Juan Sebastián Puig kicked well hit freekick during the 96th minute of the match. Ecuador's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.