Challenge

Claudio D. Borghi
Spectators: 39 (Terracing: 30, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Timoteo Gonzo might have been able to make a better finish in the 2nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Jonathan Ferrant. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Timoteo Gonzo ran back to his position shaking his head. Tomas Illescas received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 7th minute. Pedro Bela tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Israel Shepherd received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Jonathan Ferrant tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. When Tomas Illescas came up free with the goalie in the 14th minute, the Venezuela 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 Tomas Illescas couldn't finish the play. Jonathan Ferrant made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gavino Roldan in the 16th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Venezuela's zone, Gavino Roldan stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Jonathan Ferrant came out of the goal and Gavino Roldan tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Donato Ignazio's late challenge caught a Venezuela's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Donato Ignazio helped the player get up and apologised. In the 30th minute, Tomas Illescas made a precise shot to the right of Pedro Bela. Argentinos Juniors's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. Pedro Bela showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Patricio Costa in the 36th minute of the match. In the 38th minute, Donato Ignazio hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a rather tough play, Argentinos Juniors's Timoteo Gonzo got a free kick in the 45th minute. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

If Jonathan Venegas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 51st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. If Tomas Illescas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 53rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Venezuela's Tomas Illescas got a good chance for a goal in the 54th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Tomas Illescas scored 0-2 in the 56th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Pedro Bela, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. 59 minutes into the game, Salvador Gisbert was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Venezuela's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Argentinos Juniors the free kick. Salvador Gisbert hit a great freekick 59 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gavino Roldan in the 63rd minute of play forced Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gavino Roldan, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Patricio Costa came up free with the goalie in the 66th minute, the Venezuela 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 Patricio Costa couldn't finish the play. Jonathan Ferrant didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Gavino Roldan went, in the 69th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-2 was the resulting score. Donato Ignazio made in the 77th minute of the game a sloppy throw-in which Timoteo Gonzo however managed to control. In the 83rd 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. The supporters of Argentinos Juniors booed when Venezuela was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 84 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jose Correa didn't get a good kick on the ball. Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gavino Roldan in the 86th minute of play. Patricio Costa fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 89th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Pedro Bela having to interfere. After having played for 91 minutes, Tomas Illescas managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Venezuela's supporters crossed their fingers, but Tomas Illescas was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. If Tomas Illescas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 93rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When the final whistle sounded Venezuela left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Argentinos Juniors.