Challenge

Queen Arena
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Emerald's Bogdan Lobonț played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cristian Sancho in the 4th minute of play. Bogdan Lobonț made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Felix Montenegro in the 6th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Victor Piţurcă in the 8th minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Bogdan Lobonț showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Zorita in the 11th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Emerald's Hurşit Cemşit got a free kick in the 13th minute. 18 minutes into the game, Gabriel Vermeşan was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Emerald's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ecuador the free kick. A collision led to Emerald getting a freekick after 18 minutes play. Gabriel Vermeşan hit a great ball. In the 23rd minute, Victor Piţurcă left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Emerald fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-0. Cristian Sancho sent away a hard shot on goal in the 27th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Bogdan Lobonț showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cristian Sancho, who was totally free with the ball in the 32nd minute. Ecuador's Luis Andino got a good chance for a goal in the 33rd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After a defensive mix-up in Emerald's zone, Luis Andino stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Bogdan Lobonț came out of the goal and Luis Andino tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. If Victor Piţurcă had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 41st minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 1-0 at half-time.

Emerald's Ioan Logofătu was substituted for Julio Iglesias. The wind increased when Victor Piţurcă made the kick off in the second half. When the match had gone on for 58 minutes, Victor Piţurcă put it in 2-0 from a short distance just to the right of Julio Vera. If Felix Montenegro had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 61st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. With an all-out effort, Ecuador's Bogdan Lobonț threw himself towards the right post 64 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Luis Andino, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. 66 minutes into the match, Emerald's goalkeeper Bogdan Lobonț had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Cristian Sancho. Bogdan Lobonț showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Luis Andino in the 68th minute of the match. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Victor Piţurcă in the 69th minute of play. An unexpected shot in the 70th minute by Daniel Zorita got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. In the 76th minute, one of Ecuador:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Ecuador. Ecuador:s Julio Vera showed great skill when he stopped Victor Piţurcă:s penalty. Emerald's Bogdan Lobonț proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 81st minute of the match, managed to save Emerald from getting a goal against them. Victor Piţurcă might have been able to make a better finish in the 82nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Julio Vera. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Victor Piţurcă ran back to his position shaking his head. An unexpectedly hard shot by Victor Piţurcă in the 82nd minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Victor Piţurcă might have been able to make a better finish in the 84th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Julio Vera. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Victor Piţurcă ran back to his position shaking his head. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Victor Piţurcă in the 84th minute of play. Jaime Carioca hit a great freekick 85 minutes into the match. Bogdan Lobonț showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cristian Sancho in the 87th minute of the match. In the 93rd minute, Daniel Zorita hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Grigore Stătescu took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 95th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Julio Vera. Ecuador's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Victor Piţurcă struck a weak shot in the 97th minute. Julio Vera didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Emerald. Jaime Carioca hit a great freekick 99 minutes into the match. The home crowd let out a huge roar when the referee blew for the end of the game. Emerald were victorious despite being under pressure from Ecuador for much of the match.