Challenge

Estadio Azteca
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Gwidon Patora started the match with the kick off. The supporters of Veth Crystals booed when Mexico was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 7 match minutes in a wonderful position. Leonardo Leoz didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Song Xing in the 8th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Alberto Tafalla fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 9th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Marcos Lama having to interfere. After having played for 11 minutes, Joel Gaona managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Mexico's supporters crossed their fingers, but Joel Gaona was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The supporters of Veth Crystals booed when Mexico was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 13 match minutes in a wonderful position. Facundo Cadaval didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 14th minute Carlos-Armando Valderrama shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Dante Lacasa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lautaro Mancebo got free with Marcos Lama in the 17th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Dante Lacasa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Carlos-Armando Valderrama, who was totally free with the ball in the 18th minute. In the 19th minute of the match, Joel Gaona tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Marcos Lama saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. In the 22nd minute, He Lin Di ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Dante Lacasa was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. After having played for 28 minutes, He Lin Di managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Veth Crystals's supporters crossed their fingers, but He Lin Di was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The supporters of Mexico booed when Veth Crystals was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 30 match minutes in a wonderful position. Juliusz Januszewski didn't get a good kick on the ball. 31 minutes into the match, Veth Crystals's goalkeeper Marcos Lama had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Alberto Tafalla. Joel Gaona kicked well hit freekick during the 32nd minute of the match. In the 33rd minute of the match Song Xing sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Dante Lacasa skillfully saved the ball. After 37 played minutes Veth Crystals got a freekick which was hit by Ludomir Radzyminski. Mexico's Dante Lacasa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by He Lin Di in the 39th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by He Lin Di in the 40th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 42nd minute Alberto Tafalla shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marcos Lama saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Carlos-Armando Valderrama fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 47th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Dante Lacasa having to interfere. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Joel Gaona stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Dante Lacasa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from He Lin Di, who was totally free with the ball in the 54th minute. Mexico's Dante Lacasa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by He Lin Di in the 57th minute of play. Marcos Lama made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Alberto Tafalla in the 59th minute of play. In the 66th minute Lautaro Mancebo shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marcos Lama saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Joel Gaona sent away a hard shot on goal in the 69th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 78th minute, Erik Persson got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 81st minute of the match Mexico got a corner. Veth Crystals'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. Veth Crystals's Gwidon Patora got a good chance for a goal in the 85th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Felix Luque hit a great freekick 95 minutes into the match. The Mexico manager could be seen shouting at his players as they walked down the tunnel after the match. He was clearly angry that they had squandered their superior possession, allowing Veth Crystals to win.