League Play-Off

Monumental
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) River Plate's Mikael Wiman 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. A collision led to River Plate getting a freekick after 5 minutes play. Angel Berdaitz hit a great ball. In the 6th minute, Alfonso Mejias ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Benigno Rafe was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. River Plate's Benigno Rafe played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alfonso Mejias in the 9th minute of play. 11 minutes into the match, River Plate's goal looked a bit too open when Mikael Wiman came free, but Benigno Rafe reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Jiang Zhan Cheng kicked well hit freekick during the 11th minute of the match. Benigno Rafe made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Fábio Quilempan in the 14th minute of play. Benigno Rafe came out of the goal in the 15th minute to try and stop a shot by River Plate's Fábio Quilempan. But to his dismay, Fábio Quilempan quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. In the 20th match minute, River Plate was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Angel Berdaitz to maneuver through the defense. After 22 minutes of play, River Plate's Mikael Wiman made it 0-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Benigno Rafe was left in no man's land by his defense there! Benigno Rafe took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alfonso Mejias, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Benigno Rafe showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Alfonso Mejias, who was totally free with the ball in the 26th minute. In the 28th minute Alfonso Mejias shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Benigno Rafe saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 28th minute, Alfonso Mejias made a precise shot to the right of Benigno Rafe. River Plate's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-4. After 33 minutes, Mikael Wiman made it 0-5 with a short kick to the right side. River Plate's Benigno Rafe tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. In the 37th minute, River Plate's Astor Padro dribbled the ball into the box and hit a shot with the outside of his foot, sending the keeper the wrong way. 1-5. In the 39th minute, Ivan Ebardo left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The River Plate fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-6. In the 44th minute, Edgardo Firmin hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Fábio Quilempan took the ball and in the 47 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Benigno Rafe. Benigno Rafe dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-7. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 1-7 lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Astor Padro to make the kick off. Angel Berdaitz hit a great freekick 52 minutes into the match. With an all-out effort, River Plate's Benigno Rafe threw himself towards the right post 53 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Quintana Roo, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. An unexpectedly hard shot by Amerigo Di Mattia in the 56th minute of play forced River Plate's goalkeeper Ezequiel Fidencio to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 59 minutes of play, River Plate's Mikael Wiman made it 1-8 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Benigno Rafe was left in no man's land by his defense there! Ezequiel Fidencio showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jorge Rafael, who was totally free with the ball in the 62nd minute. 63 minutes into the game, River Plate's Jorge Rafael nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Ezequiel Fidencio made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-8. Benigno Rafe made a fantastic save in the 67th minute, when Jiang Zhan Cheng sent off a good shot on target. After some careless play in the River Plate defense, Fábio Quilempan kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Benigno Rafe. The River Plate fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Benigno Rafe should have stopped the shot. After 71 minutes of play, River Plate's Victorio Brais made it 3-9 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Ezequiel Fidencio was left in no man's land by his defense there! The audience thought a goal was coming when Fábio Quilempan got free with Benigno Rafe in the 74th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The crowd rose to their feet as River Plate's Fábio Quilempan slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Benigno Rafe. That made the score 3-10 after 78 minutes of play. After 83 played minutes River Plate got a freekick which was hit by Quintana Roo. Angel Berdaitz struck a weak shot in the 84th minute. Ezequiel Fidencio didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for River Plate. In the 89th match minute, River Plate was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Jorge Rafael to maneuver through the defense. River Plate's defense didn't have a chance, in the 90th minute, when Fábio Quilempan scored to the left of an out of position Benigno Rafe, making the score, 3-11. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Alfonso Mejias in the 93rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Benigno Rafe saved River Plate from getting behind. 94 minutes into the match, River Plate's goalkeeper Benigno Rafe had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Fábio Quilempan. In the 97th minute Fábio Quilempan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Benigno Rafe saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. River Plate's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.