League Play-Off

Bernardo Romeo
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Genaro Cai started the match with the kick off. Matias Soin recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 3rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Genaro Cai in the 7th minute of play forced Saavedra AFC's goalkeeper Joaquin Odilon to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. La Gloriosa's Eduardo Mikelar played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Casimiro Felipo in the 17th minute of play. A collision led to La Gloriosa getting a freekick after 18 minutes play. Americo Luke hit a great ball. Casimiro Felipo received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 20th minute. Eduardo Mikelar tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After having played for 23 minutes, Genaro Cai managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. La Gloriosa's supporters crossed their fingers, but Genaro Cai was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Genaro Cai recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 25th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. After 34 played minutes La Gloriosa got a freekick which was hit by Americo Luke. In the 35th minute, Casimiro Felipo ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Eduardo Mikelar was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Joaquin Odilon made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Genaro Cai in the 45th minute of play. 48 minutes into the game, Virgilio Cresenciano was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Saavedra AFC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave La Gloriosa the free kick. A collision led to Saavedra AFC getting a freekick after 48 minutes play. Virgilio Cresenciano hit a great ball. After the first half Saavedra AFC were leading 0-1. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Casimiro Felipo to make the kick off. In the 57th minute, Americo Luke had to leave the field with a concussion. Virgilio Cresenciano got his second yellow card in the match during the 57th minute which meant that he had to leave the ground. A collision led to Saavedra AFC getting a freekick after 58 minutes play. Virgilio Cresenciano hit a great ball. When Aquilino Urre fell near the penalty area in the 60th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored La Gloriosa's protests and gave Aquilino Urre a yellow card for diving instead. Matias Soin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 64th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Joaquin Odilon having to interfere. A collision led to Saavedra AFC getting a freekick after 65 minutes play. Casimiro Felipo hit a great ball. When Roman Abalos fell near the penalty area in the 69th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Saavedra AFC's protests and gave Roman Abalos a yellow card for diving instead. In the 69th minute, Roman Abalos hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 72 minutes Saavedra AFC's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Anacleto Bidari who took care of the corner kick. The corner led La Gloriosa's Anacleto Bidari to fire away a dangerous shot which Joaquin Odilon despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. Matias Soin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 74th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Joaquin Odilon having to interfere. After some fancy dribbling in the 80th minute, Aquilino Urre managed to get in a good position for a shot. La Gloriosa's supporters rose to their feet, but Aquilino Urre was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Joaquin Odilon breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Matias Soin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 87th minute. Joaquin Odilon tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Casimiro Felipo's late challenge caught a La Gloriosa's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Casimiro Felipo helped the player get up and apologised. In the 92nd minute the ball was on its way in behind Saavedra AFC's goalkeeper Joaquin Odilon, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Eduardo Mikelar came out of the goal in the 94th minute to try and stop a shot by Saavedra AFC's Jeremias Columbo. But to his dismay, Jeremias Columbo quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. When Roman Abalos was, once again, overly rough in his play he received his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. 97 minutes had been played. The supporters of La Gloriosa booed when Saavedra AFC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 98 match minutes in a wonderful position. Roman Abalos didn't get a good kick on the ball. The La Gloriosa supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Saavedra AFC's performance. The match ended with a win for Saavedra AFC.