Challenge

Universal Stadium
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Kyle Davies got the match started through his kick off. In the 5th minute the ball was on its way in behind Curacao's goalkeeper Bruno Barrett, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. If Mareks Hamšík had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 8th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 10th minute, Mareks Hamšík ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Bruno Barrett was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-0. If Mareks Hamšík had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 16th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Zahid Saïfi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Troy Kennedy in the 18th minute of play. Harvey Doyle hit a great freekick 22 minutes into the match. Fouad Zerara received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 23rd minute. Bruno Barrett tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Mareks Hamšík had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 26th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Curacao's Bruno Barrett played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Erasmo Macera in the 31st minute of play. 34 minutes into the game, one of Curacao:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. Mareks Hamšík fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 40th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Bruno Barrett having to interfere. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Mareks Hamšík to make the kick off. If Mareks Hamšík had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 52nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Bruno Barrett stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Mareks Hamšík's shot from short distance in the 62nd minute. If Mareks Hamšík had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 68th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 71 minutes into the match, Mareks Hamšík had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Bruno Barrett. Curacao's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Mareks Hamšík was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 4-0. When Bertie Johnson fell near the penalty area in the 82nd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Curacao's protests and gave Bertie Johnson a yellow card for diving instead. Mareks Hamšík sent away a hard shot on goal in the 91st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Holger Holm hit a great freekick 93 minutes into the match. Newcastle were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Curacao for a fine match.