League Play-Off

The Mike Stadium
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The Mike Team's Lino Toli 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. Toribio Garate sent away a hard shot on goal in the 3rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nikola Ponte in the 5th minute of play forced Salelles's goalkeeper Wilfredo Gabas to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Lino Toli could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 7th minute of the match, but Wilfredo Gabas made a huge save. Abelardo Aranzubia kicked well hit freekick during the 8th minute of the match. After 9 played minutes Salelles got a freekick which was hit by Arnaitz Sancho. The Mike Team's Norberto Alfaro played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Abelardo Aranzubia in the 12th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lino Toli got free with Wilfredo Gabas in the 15th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Nikola Ponte recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 19 minutes into the match, Abelardo Aranzubia notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of The Mike Team's Norberto Alfaro. Norberto Alfaro was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. 23 minutes into the match, Nikola Ponte dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Wilfredo Gabas, 1-1. After a defensive mix-up in Salelles's zone, Lino Toli stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Wilfredo Gabas came out of the goal and Lino Toli tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Salelles's Wilfredo Gabas proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 29th minute of the match, managed to save Salelles from getting a goal against them. In the 32nd minute, Estefan Macías ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Norberto Alfaro was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-2. An unexpectedly hard shot by Toribio Garate in the 38th minute of play forced The Mike Team's goalkeeper Norberto Alfaro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 47 minutes into the game, Nikola Ponte recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Wilfredo Gabas. Nikola Ponte showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 2-2. 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.

The wind increased when Abelardo Aranzubia made the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Lino Toli 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. The Mike Team's Norberto Alfaro played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Abelardo Aranzubia in the 58th minute of play. Nikola Ponte's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Wilfredo Gabas read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 59th minute of play. Wilfredo Gabas came out of the goal in the 62nd minute to try and stop a shot by The Mike Team's Nikola Ponte. But to his dismay, Nikola Ponte quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 3-2. Wilfredo Gabas made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Nikola Ponte in the 66th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Salelles's zone, Galo Zabalo stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Wilfredo Gabas came out of the goal and Galo Zabalo tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 73 minutes of play, The Mike Team's Lino Toli made it 4-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Wilfredo Gabas was left in no man's land by his defense there! Norberto Alfaro made a fantastic save in the 78th minute, when Toribio Garate sent off a good shot on target. Norberto Alfaro showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Abelardo Aranzubia in the 79th minute of the match. 82 minutes into the match, Nikola Ponte had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Wilfredo Gabas. Salelles's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Nikola Ponte was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 5-2. After 86 minutes, Abelardo Aranzubia mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Salelles and the The Mike Team players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 86th minute, Abelardo Aranzubia hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 96thth minute of the game Lino Toli who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Salelles's Wilfredo Gabas was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. There was no doubt that The Mike Team were the better team. The Mike Team's players enjoyed the ovations of the crowd after the victory.