Friendly League

Dario Insua
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Zeledon Sol started the match with the kick off. Gabriel Urtats showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Juan Manuel Cruz in the 8th minute of the match. Leo Henric showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lucio Galo, who was totally free with the ball in the 9th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Juan Manuel Cruz in the 13th minute of play forced Areco FC's goalkeeper Gabriel Urtats to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 13 minutes into the match, Juan Manuel Cruz notched a goal, 1-0, to the right of Areco FC's Gabriel Urtats. Gabriel Urtats was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Gabriel Urtats made an important save on a dangerous shot by Juan Manuel Cruz in the 16th minute. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Hugo Gines during the 17th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Areco FC getting a freekick after 17 minutes play. Hugo Gines hit a great ball. Gabriel Urtats made an important save on a dangerous shot by Juan Manuel Cruz in the 18th minute. Geovânio da Silveira hit a great freekick 32 minutes into the match. 36 minutes into the match, Azulgranas AFC's goal looked a bit too open when Zeledon Sol came free, but Leo Henric reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The throw-in from Hugo Gines in the 40th minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by Azulgranas AFC's Radomir Naskrent. Gabriel Urtats made an important save on a dangerous shot by Juan Manuel Cruz in the 41st minute. Hugo Gines got his second yellow card in the match during the 42nd minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. Azulgranas AFC's Leo Henric played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Zeledon Sol in the 46th minute of play. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 1-0.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Juan Manuel Cruz made a kick off. After some fancy dribbling in the 51st minute, Juan Manuel Cruz managed to get in a good position for a shot. Azulgranas AFC's supporters rose to their feet, but Juan Manuel Cruz was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Gabriel Urtats breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. The audience was convinced that Juan Manuel Cruz's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Gabriel Urtats was relentless in the 61st minute of the game. Gabriel Urtats showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Juan Manuel Cruz, who was totally free with the ball in the 67th minute. If Ismael Barros had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 69th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a defensive mix-up in Areco FC's zone, Radomir Naskrent stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gabriel Urtats came out of the goal and Radomir Naskrent tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Gabriel Urtats stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Juan Manuel Cruz's shot from short distance in the 76th minute. Venancio Sendoa could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 78th minute of the match, but Leo Henric made a huge save. Gabriel Urtats made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mateo Transito in the 81st minute of play. In the 83rd minute, Juan Manuel Cruz left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Azulgranas AFC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-0. Gabriel Urtats took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Juan Manuel Cruz, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Juan Manuel Cruz had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 90th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Gabriel Urtats made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Juan Manuel Cruz in the 93rd minute of play. 94 minutes into the match, Juan Manuel Cruz notched a goal, 3-0, to the right of Areco FC's Gabriel Urtats. Gabriel Urtats was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. For all the effort they put into the match, the Areco FC players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Azulgranas AFC.