Challenge

P. Alexandru Arena
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Joel Gaona took the kick off in the first half of the match. Felix Leahu showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alberto Tafalla in the 5th minute of the match. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rodri Gol in the 9th minute of the match. Lautaro Mancebo took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 11th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Felix Leahu. F.C. YKE's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. In the 12th minute Mexico were awarded a corner. Joel Gaona went to the cornerflag to take it. Luca Rouco made a great header on Mexico's corner, it was just that F.C. YKE's Felix Leahu managed to reach the ball for a save. Dante Lacasa made a fantastic save in the 15th minute, when Twan van Nistelrooij sent off a good shot on target. Lautaro Mancebo sent away a hard shot on goal in the 16th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 21st minute Lautaro Mancebo shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Felix Leahu saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Felix Leahu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Joel Gaona in the 25th minute of play. In the 40th minute of the match Mexico got a corner. F.C. YKE's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Joel Gaona ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner went over the outstretched arms of F.C. YKE's goalie and right to Alberto Tafalla. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. F.C. YKE's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. After a defensive mix-up in F.C. YKE's zone, Joel Gaona stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Felix Leahu came out of the goal and Joel Gaona tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 47th minute, Michael Jordan hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. A collision led to Mexico getting a freekick after 48 minutes play. Alberto Tafalla hit a great ball. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Samet Ağar stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. A collision led to F.C. YKE getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Michael Jordan hit a great ball. After a rather tough play, F.C. YKE's Yao Xing Chao got a free kick in the 65th minute. After 69 played minutes Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Lautaro Mancebo. F.C. YKE made a substitution. Silviu Dumitrana replaced Samet Ağar. After 71 played minutes Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Lautaro Mancebo. 74 minutes in the game Macos Graciani did a throw-in, and the ball was quickly in game thanks to Alberto Tafalla. Alberto Tafalla received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 75th minute. Felix Leahu tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Dante Lacasa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Silviu Dumitrana, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 79th minute, Silviu Dumitrana left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The F.C. YKE fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. When Alberto Tafalla came up free with the goalie in the 82nd minute, the Mexico 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 Alberto Tafalla couldn't finish the play. After some careless play in the F.C. YKE defense, Alberto Tafalla kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Felix Leahu. The F.C. YKE fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Felix Leahu should have stopped the shot. After a defensive mix-up in F.C. YKE's zone, Joel Gaona stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Felix Leahu came out of the goal and Joel Gaona tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The throw-in from Macos Graciani in the 96th minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by F.C. YKE's Michael Jordan. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Mexico eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.