Challenge

Gran Parque Central
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) Pedro Manzanares made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Grabiel Escorcia in the 4th minute of play. Joshua Garrido made in the 6th minute of the game a fairly good throw-in which was taken care of by Abram Sarmiento. A collision led to Nacional getting a freekick after 7 minutes play. Felipe Carballo hit a great ball. In the 7th minute, Axel Montenegro sent off a long shot on goal, but the shot was nowhere near the goal and Nacional's Juaneizu Merida didn't even have to move. In the 12th minute of the match Nacional got a corner. Colombia's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Xu Sha ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner led to Nacional's Grabiel Escorcia getting away a dangerous shot that went just outside the goal. If Grabiel Escorcia had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 14th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. 14 minutes into the match, Colombia's goal looked a bit too open when Grabiel Escorcia came free, but Pedro Manzanares reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. A sloppy throw-in by Joshua Garrido in the 15th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Nacional's Camilo Candido. Grabiel Escorcia sent away a hard shot on goal in the 16th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 16 minutes into the match, Colombia's goal looked a bit too open when Grabiel Escorcia came free, but Pedro Manzanares reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Pedro Manzanares took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Grabiel Escorcia, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Jony Maidana hit a great freekick 18 minutes into the match. Juaneizu Merida stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Pascual Carballar's shot from short distance in the 20th minute. Pedro Manzanares showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Grabiel Escorcia in the 25th minute of the match. Axel Montenegro sent away a hard shot on goal in the 27th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 27 minutes into the match, Nacional's goal looked a bit too open when Axel Montenegro came free, but Juaneizu Merida reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Grabiel Escorcia blasted a shot towards the goal in the 33rd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Pedro Manzanares having to make a save. Pedro Manzanares showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Grabiel Escorcia, who was totally free with the ball in the 33rd minute. 35 minutes into the match, Nacional's goal looked a bit too open when Santino Seco came free, but Juaneizu Merida reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Santino Seco in the 37th minute of play forced Nacional's goalkeeper Juaneizu Merida to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 37 minutes into the match, Santino Seco had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Juaneizu Merida. Nacional's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Santino Seco was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-1. When Grabiel Escorcia came up free with the goalie in the 42nd minute, the Nacional 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 Grabiel Escorcia couldn't finish the play. The audience was convinced that Grabiel Escorcia's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Pedro Manzanares was relentless in the 45th minute of the game. With a little luck, Colombia's Pedro Manzanares got control of the ball when Grabiel Escorcia tried to sneak it across the goal line. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Abram Sarmiento to make the kick off. 51 minutes into the game, Camilo Candido threw the ball into play from the sideline. Colombia's Kevin Mastache quickly snatched the ball and retained possesion. Juaneizu Merida showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Abram Sarmiento, who was totally free with the ball in the 53rd minute. Nacional's Damiano Fioravanti was substituted for Mendiko Bueres. In the 68th minute, Grabiel Escorcia ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Pedro Manzanares was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-1. Colombia made a substitution. Abram Secada replaced Axel Montenegro. In the 73rd minute, Grabiel Escorcia ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Pedro Manzanares was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-1. Nacional's Juaneizu Merida played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ignacio Mastache in the 76th minute of play. 78 minutes into the match, Nacional's goal looked a bit too open when Ignacio Mastache came free, but Juaneizu Merida reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Grabiel Escorcia recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 85th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Pedro Manzanares showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Grabiel Escorcia, who was totally free with the ball in the 85th minute. The audience was convinced that Abram Secada's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Juaneizu Merida was relentless in the 86th minute of the game. Nacional's Jony Maidana quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Antonio Indiano, made in the 88th minute of the game. In the 93rd minute, Colombia's Abram Secada ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Juaneizu Merida. Juaneizu Merida yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 3-2. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Nacional had won after a very even match.