Challenge

Libertadores x7
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) 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. Luis Andino sent away a hard shot on goal in the 13th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 18th minute Luis Andino shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Farid Mondragón saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 20 minutes of play, Ecuador's Cristian Sancho made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Farid Mondragón was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 26th minute, Sidney Forbes 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. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Sidney Forbes in the 27th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Julio Vera saved Ecuador from getting behind. If Kerry Sellers had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 34th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 36 minutes into the match, Sidney Forbes had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Julio Vera. Ecuador's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Sidney Forbes was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. Farid Mondragón took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Daniel Zorita, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Tomas Gustafson in the 43rd minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. C. A. Independiente's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Eric Snowden in the 44th minute. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 2-1.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Sidney Forbes was the one to do the kick off. In the 57th minute Tomas Gustafson 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. Julio Vera didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Sidney Forbes went, in the 59th minute, to the upper right corner, 3-1 was the resulting score. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kerry Sellers in the 65th minute of play. 66 minutes into the match, Cristian Sancho notched a goal, 3-2, to the right of C. A. Independiente's Farid Mondragón. Farid Mondragón was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. C. A. Independiente's Xu Yun Quan was substituted for Sidney Forbes. After 72 minutes C. A. Independiente's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Daniel Zorita who took care of the corner kick. Daniel Zorita made a great header on Ecuador's corner, it was just that C. A. Independiente's Farid Mondragón managed to reach the ball for a save. 73 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Xu Yun Quan came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 75 minutes into the match, C. A. Independiente's goalkeeper Farid Mondragón had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Cristian Sancho. In the 77th minute Xu Yun Quan 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's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kerry Sellers in the 78th minute of play. In the 80th minute of the match, Daniel Zorita got a very nice opportunity to score, but Farid Mondragón was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cristian Sancho in the 86th minute of play forced C. A. Independiente's goalkeeper Farid Mondragón to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Xu Yun Quan in the 88th minute of play. After 89 minutes Ecuador's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Eric Snowden who took care of the corner kick. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Ecuador's goalie and right to Ryszard Prusinowski. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Ecuador's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. C. A. Independiente succeeded in salvaging a draw, even though Ecuador had controlled the match.