Challenge

Hurst Rec Stadium
Spectators: 43 (Terracing: 33, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Rod Constantine hit a great freekick 10 minutes into the match. In the 14th minute, John-Paul Whittingham made a precise shot to the right of Jonathan Ferrant. Venezuela's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-0. When Dean Ashton fell near the penalty area in the 16th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Merton Albion FC's protests and gave Dean Ashton a yellow card for diving instead. Dean Ashton hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. In the 22nd minute Tomas Illescas shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Laurence Barraclough saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 22 minutes in the game, Tomas Illescas dribbled his way through the penalty area and after maneuvering past an opponent, drilled a quick shot at the goal. The ball looked like it was going in, but it was hit a bit too hard and flew over the goal. In the 24th minute, Patricio Costa hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. John-Paul Whittingham made a great header on Merton Albion FC's corner, it was just that Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant managed to reach the ball for a save. A sloppy throw-in by Guillermo Mariano in the 28th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Merton Albion FC's Zak Bassett. In the 29th minute the ball was on its way in behind Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After some careless play in the Venezuela defense, Dean Ashton kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Jonathan Ferrant. The Venezuela fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Jonathan Ferrant should have stopped the shot. In the 38th minute the ball was on its way in behind Merton Albion FC's goalkeeper Laurence Barraclough, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 40th play minute Dean Ashton came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Jonathan Ferrant. 3-0. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Tomas Illescas in the 43rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Laurence Barraclough saved Merton Albion FC from getting behind. 45 minutes into the match, Venezuela's goal looked a bit too open when John-Paul Whittingham came free, but Jonathan Ferrant reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 46th match minute, Venezuela was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Jose Correa to maneuver through the defense. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Dean Ashton to strike the kick off in the second half. Laurence Barraclough took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Patricio Costa, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Jonathan Ferrant came out of the goal in the 60th minute to try and stop a shot by Merton Albion FC's Dean Ashton. But to his dismay, Dean Ashton quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 4-0. Jonathan Ferrant showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from John-Paul Whittingham in the 62nd minute of the match. 67 minutes into the match, Venezuela's goal looked a bit too open when John-Paul Whittingham came free, but Jonathan Ferrant reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by John-Paul Whittingham in the 71st minute of play forced Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Tomas Illescas in the 72nd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Laurence Barraclough prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Jonathan Ferrant stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Dean Ashton's shot from short distance in the 73rd minute. Rod Constantine made in the 75th minute of the game a fairly good throw-in which was taken care of by Dean Ashton. In the 76th minute, Tomas Illescas 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. When John-Paul Whittingham came up free with the goalie in the 78th minute, the Merton Albion FC 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 John-Paul Whittingham couldn't finish the play. 80 minutes into the game, Dean Ashton cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 5-0. Jonathan Ferrant was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from John-Paul Whittingham, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by John-Paul Whittingham in the 85th minute of play. In the 88th minute, Slawomir Cieliczka hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a rather tough play, Venezuela's Patricio Costa got a free kick in the 95th minute. When the referee ended the match the Merton Albion FC players were able to celebrate. They had won a fair victory and recieved the ovations of their fans.