Challenge

Decathlon Arena
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) Decathlon Dudes's Henrik Larsson 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. Tadej Pogačar stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Cassius Byrne's shot from short distance in the 4th minute. Marco Day showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Henrik Larsson, who was totally free with the ball in the 16th minute. Henrik Larsson recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 18th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. 23 minutes into the match, Decathlon Dudes's goal looked a bit too open when Monty Rogers came free, but Tadej Pogačar reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The audience thought a goal was coming when Henrik Larsson got free with Marco Day in the 27th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Marco Day made a fantastic save in the 30th minute, when Henrik Larsson sent off a good shot on target. An unexpectedly hard shot by Edward Mcdonald in the 32nd minute of play forced Decathlon Dudes's goalkeeper Tadej Pogačar to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 38 minutes USA's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Costin Moisil who took care of the corner kick. A sloppy throw-in by Diego Bradley in the 39th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Decathlon Dudes's Karsten Schoonderwoerd. USA's Marco Day proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 45th minute of the match, managed to save USA from getting a goal against them. Marinus Doren kicked well hit freekick during the 46th minute of the match. Monty Rogers received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 47th minute. Tadej Pogačar tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Cassius Byrne made a kick off. Tadej Pogačar showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cassius Byrne in the 52nd minute of the match. Marco Day took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Henrik Larsson, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cassius Byrne got free with Tadej Pogačar in the 59th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 61st minute of the match USA got a corner. Decathlon Dudes's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Cassius Byrne ran over to the corner to take the kick. If Costin Moisil had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 65th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. If Cassius Byrne had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 66th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. USA made a substitution. Sam Campbell replaced Cassius Byrne. Tadej Pogačar was out of position in the 72 minute of play, and Monty Rogers capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Monty Rogers really showed his touch with that goal: 1-1. After having played for 76 minutes, Monty Rogers managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. USA's supporters crossed their fingers, but Monty Rogers was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. USA's Khalid Parry was substituted for Monty Rogers. Tadej Pogačar showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Marco Baker in the 82nd minute of the match. Tadej Pogačar made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Khalid Parry in the 85th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Khalid Parry in the 88th minute of play forced Decathlon Dudes's goalkeeper Tadej Pogačar to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tadej Pogačar made an important save on a dangerous shot by Fabian Brown in the 91st minute. Tadej Pogačar showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Sam Campbell, who was totally free with the ball in the 93rd minute. When the referee blew the final whistle, you could see the dissatisfaction in the USA players' eyes. They were disappointed they hadn't taken more from the game.