League Play-Off

Hornchurch Park
Spectators: 36 (Terracing: 28, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Edwin Lima made the kick off which started today's match. The supporters of Hornchurch booed when Birkdale was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 3 match minutes in a wonderful position. Alvaro Melendez didn't get a good kick on the ball. Gilberto Ayala stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Jose Bautista's shot from short distance in the 6th minute. After 12 minutes of play, Birkdale's Rudy Barreto made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Dennys Machado was left in no man's land by his defense there! With a couple of smart ball manuevers Edwin Lima in the 25th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Dennys Machado saved Hornchurch from getting behind. Rudy Barreto blasted a shot towards the goal in the 26th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Dennys Machado having to make a save. In the 28th minute Edwin Lima shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dennys Machado saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Jose Bautista received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 33rd minute. Gilberto Ayala tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 36 minutes, Alvaro Melendez mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Birkdale and the Hornchurch players grew even worse after the yellow card. Alvaro Melendez hit a great freekick 36 minutes into the match. Francisco Ramirez, 37 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. Edwin Lima received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 39th minute. Dennys Machado tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The Birkdale fans' excitement grew in the 41st match minute when Birkdale's Edwin Lima looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 1-2.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Jose Bautista to make the kick off. In the 52nd minute, Armando Canales hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Dennys Machado showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Edwin Lima in the 54th minute of the match. In the 55th minute, Marcelo Montes left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Hornchurch fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-2. In the 59th minute, Alejandro Verdugo hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Everyone was convinced a goal was close when Birkdale's Edwin Lima in the 63rd minute lifted the ball towards the upper right corner, but Dennys Machado was perfectly placed and prevented a goal for Hornchurch through an amazing save. Hornchurch's Francisco Ramirez couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 69th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for Birkdale. Dennys Machado was a little too slow when Edwin Lima got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 73rd minute. The score was now 2-3. An unexpectedly hard shot by Edwin Lima in the 81st minute of play forced Hornchurch's goalkeeper Dennys Machado to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Hornchurch's Marcelo Montes got a good chance for a goal in the 82nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After 85 played minutes Hornchurch got a freekick which was hit by Armando Canales. When Rudy Barreto came up free with the goalie in the 86th minute, the Birkdale 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 Rudy Barreto couldn't finish the play. If Marcelo Montes had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 91st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Rudy Barreto could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 94th minute of the match, but Dennys Machado made a huge save. 95 minutes in the game, Edwin Lima fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Dennys Machado having to interfere. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Birkdale had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.