Challenge

Pueblo Park
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, 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. Vern Wright started the match with the kick off. Cristian Sancho sent away a hard shot on goal in the 5th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ari Willingham could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 19th minute of the match, but Julio Vera made a huge save. After some fancy dribbling in the 20th minute, Vern Wright managed to get in a good position for a shot. Pueblo FC's supporters rose to their feet, but Vern Wright 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. 23 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Jaime McClendon came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Daniel Zorita in the 24th minute of play forced Pueblo FC's goalkeeper Boyd Winkler to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. If Jaime McClendon had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 30th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Boyd Winkler didn't succeed to prevent the ball from going into goal when Ecuador's Cristian Sancho shot an unexpected shot in the crossbar's under edge and made 1-1 in the ordered_time% minute. Boyd Winkler made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Luis Andino in the 35th minute of play. Ecuador's goalkeeper couldn't reach when Jaime McClendon 37 minutes into the game got a good kick on the ball which found its way into goal just inside left pole. 2-1. Tyrell Houser hit a great freekick 41 minutes into the match. Julio Vera was out of position in the 43 minute of play, and Vern Wright capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Vern Wright really showed his touch with that goal: 3-1. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 3-1 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Daniel Zorita to make the kick off. In the 52nd minute the ball was on its way in behind Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 54th minute, Mohammed Flanagan hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 57th minute Russell Hare 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. Pueblo FC's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Tyrell Houser in the 58th minute. A well-hit corner resulted in Gerry Franco heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. After having played for 65 minutes, Mohammed Flanagan managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Pueblo FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Mohammed Flanagan was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Julio Vera showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ari Willingham in the 66th minute of the match. Pueblo FC's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Tyrell Houser in the 68th minute. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Jaime McClendon, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 86 minutes into the match, Daniel Zorita had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Boyd Winkler. Pueblo FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Daniel Zorita was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-2. In the 91st match minute, Pueblo FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Greg Shipley to maneuver through the defense. The Pueblo FC players were eager to celebrate when the final whistle sounded. They had somehow managed to win, even though the away team had held the majority of the possession.