Challenge

Estadio Olímpico
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) AC Cristal's Greg Lequesne 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. 3 minutes into the game, AC Cristal's Jean-Marc Taillefer nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Jonathan Ferrant made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. In the 7th minute Greg Lequesne shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jonathan Ferrant saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Jonathan Ferrant showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Greg Lequesne in the 10th minute of the match. Tomas Illescas's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Elias Bocage read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 16th minute of play. Tomas Illescas fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 19th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Elias Bocage having to interfere. Tomas Illescas sent away a hard shot on goal in the 21st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Jonathan Ferrant made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Greg Lequesne in the 25th minute of play. Camilo Gaos hit a great freekick 31 minutes into the match. Robert Bardin might have been able to make a better finish in the 32nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Jonathan Ferrant. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Robert Bardin ran back to his position shaking his head. 34 minutes into the game, Camilo Gaos was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Venezuela's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave AC Cristal the free kick. The supporters of AC Cristal booed when Venezuela was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 34 match minutes in a wonderful position. Camilo Gaos didn't get a good kick on the ball. After a rather tough play, AC Cristal's Jacob Goux got a free kick in the 39th minute. Jonathan Ferrant showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jean-Marc Taillefer, who was totally free with the ball in the 43rd minute. The supporters of AC Cristal booed when Venezuela was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 45 match minutes in a wonderful position. Patricio Costa didn't get a good kick on the ball. Elias Bocage didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Tomas Illescas went, in the 47th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-1 was the resulting score. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Tomas Illescas to make the kick off. Jose Correa kicked well hit freekick during the 53rd minute of the match. In the 55th minute, Patricio Costa 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. Jonathan Ferrant made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jean-Marc Taillefer in the 59th minute of play. 62 minutes into the game, Patricio Costa cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-1. Elias Bocage was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. A collision led to Venezuela getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Camilo Gaos hit a great ball. After 72 minutes, Jean-Marc Taillefer made it 2-2 with a short kick to the right side. Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. Patricio Costa hit a great freekick 74 minutes into the match. AC Cristal's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Robert Bardin in the 78th minute. A well-hit corner resulted in Geoffrey Plaud heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. In the 80th minute, Tomas Illescas left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Venezuela fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-2. Jean-Marc Taillefer received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 83rd minute. Jonathan Ferrant tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After having played for 86 minutes, Jean-Marc Taillefer managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. AC Cristal's supporters crossed their fingers, but Jean-Marc Taillefer was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Nelson Pagano charged in rather forcefully in the 90th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Nelson Pagano the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 91st match minute, AC Cristal was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Nelson Pagano to maneuver through the defense. Venezuela's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.