Challenge

Estadio Olímpico
Spectators: 49 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Tomas Illescas started the match with the kick off. Jonathan Ferrant showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tim-Oliver Mayrhofer in the 5th minute of the match. If Tomas Illescas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 6th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. After 7 played minutes International Thunders got a freekick which was hit by Dennis Bartl. Patricio Costa kicked well hit freekick during the 10th minute of the match. Venezuela were furious when Rigoberto Mina was red carded, 18 minutes into the game, but the referee dismissed their protests. After 17 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Venezuela! 24 minutes into the game, Lars Hauff cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Jonathan Ferrant was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After a rather tough play, Venezuela's Tomas Illescas got a free kick in the 28th minute. 35 minutes into the game, Dennis Bartl threw the ball into play from the sideline. Venezuela's Salvador Gisbert quickly snatched the ball and retained possesion. A sloppy throw-in by Dennis Bartl in the 36th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Venezuela's Salvador Gisbert. If Patricio Costa had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 38th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 40 minutes into the match, International Thunders's Tim-Oliver Mayrhofer sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Jonathan Ferrant narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Colin Schwarz, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Marcel Hennemann made in the 47th minute of the game a fairly good throw-in which was taken care of by Gregor Renz. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Tim-Oliver Mayrhofer to make the kick off. Jonathan Ferrant showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Colin Schwarz, who was totally free with the ball in the 52nd minute. If Patricio Costa had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 58th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Tim-Oliver Mayrhofer received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 62nd minute. Jonathan Ferrant tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Marcel Hennemann made in the 68th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Venezuela's Patricio Costa. After 71 played minutes International Thunders got a freekick which was hit by Colin Schwarz. Patricio Costa fired away a difficult shot at goal in the 74th minute. He almost succeeded, but the ball bounced in the crossbar and then went out. It was a very nice shot. The supporters of Venezuela booed when International Thunders was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 89 match minutes in a wonderful position. Dennis Bartl didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 91 played minutes International Thunders got a freekick which was hit by Pascal Oehlert. When Tim-Oliver Mayrhofer came up free with the goalie in the 93rd minute, the International Thunders 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 Tim-Oliver Mayrhofer couldn't finish the play. When the referee blew the final whistle, you could see the dissatisfaction in the Venezuela players' eyes. They were disappointed they hadn't taken more from the game.