League Play-Off

George J. W. Burton
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) Estrella de plata F.C.'s Honorio Atauri 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. 4 minutes into the game, Estrella de plata F.C.'s Ignacio Scocco nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Leandro Savion made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. Estrella de plata F.C.'s Ermegildo Hanni played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Qian Kuan Bing in the 9th minute of play. Ermegildo Hanni took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Qian Kuan Bing, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Remigio Lucado charged in rather forcefully in the 14th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Remigio Lucado the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 14 played minutes Estrella de plata F.C. got a freekick which was hit by Remigio Lucado. Ermegildo Hanni made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Qian Kuan Bing in the 17th minute of play. Honorio Atauri sent away a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Estrella de plata F.C.'s Honorio Atauri got a good chance for a goal in the 20th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Santiago Leizarraga's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Ermegildo Hanni firmly grabbed it by the left post. A collision led to Estrella de plata F.C. getting a freekick after 23 minutes play. Cristobal Suero hit a great ball. Estrella de plata F.C.'s Ermegildo Hanni played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Qian Kuan Bing in the 25th minute of play. Leandro Savion showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ignacio Scocco, who was totally free with the ball in the 29th minute. 31 minutes into the game, Qian Kuan Bing recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Ermegildo Hanni. Qian Kuan Bing showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 1-1. A collision led to Banfield 1896 FC getting a freekick after 33 minutes play. Severiano Rainerio hit a great ball. A collision led to Banfield 1896 FC getting a freekick after 38 minutes play. Dariusz Kaczanka hit a great ball. When Ignacio Scocco came up free with the goalie in the 38th minute, the Estrella de plata F.C. fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Ignacio Scocco couldn't finish the play. Ermegildo Hanni made a fantastic save in the 41st minute, when Mei Jun Lang sent off a good shot on target. When Ignacio Scocco fell near the penalty area in the 45th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Estrella de plata F.C.'s protests and gave Ignacio Scocco a yellow card for diving instead. 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 players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Santiago Leizarraga was the one to do the kick off. In the 52nd minute, Ignacio Scocco reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Leandro Savion. The goal made the score 1-2. An unexpectedly hard shot by Qian Kuan Bing in the 56th minute of play forced Estrella de plata F.C.'s goalkeeper Ermegildo Hanni to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ermegildo Hanni showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Santiago Leizarraga in the 59th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Qian Kuan Bing in the 74th minute of play forced Estrella de plata F.C.'s goalkeeper Ermegildo Hanni to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 76 minutes into the match, Estrella de plata F.C.'s goal looked a bit too open when Santiago Leizarraga came free, but Ermegildo Hanni reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 79th minute Ignacio Scocco shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Leandro Savion saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 81st minute, Edelmiro Bonadona hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ignacio Scocco in the 82nd minute of play forced Banfield 1896 FC's goalkeeper Leandro Savion to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 83 minutes Banfield 1896 FC's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Luisito Chago who took care of the corner kick. A nice corner shot did that Luisito Chago got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Leandro Savion quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Ignacio Scocco kicked well hit freekick during the 84th minute of the match. Dariusz Kaczanka charged in rather forcefully in the 86th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Dariusz Kaczanka the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Estrella de plata F.C. booed when Banfield 1896 FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 87 match minutes in a wonderful position. Dariusz Kaczanka didn't get a good kick on the ball. Leandro Savion made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ignacio Scocco in the 93rd minute of play. Leandro Savion was out of position in the 95 minute of play, and Patricio Ruisko capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Patricio Ruisko really showed his touch with that goal: 1-3. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Estrella de plata F.C. had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.