Challenge

Carlos A. Barbieri
Spectators: 41 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Todd Gronow took the kick off in the first half of the match. After some careless play in the Colombia defense, Todd Gronow kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Pedro Manzanares. The Colombia fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Pedro Manzanares should have stopped the shot. 6 minutes into the match, Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC's goal looked a bit too open when Axel Montenegro came free, but Abelardo Janpier reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Todd Gronow in the 9th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Pedro Manzanares saved Colombia from getting behind. An unexpectedly hard shot by Axel Montenegro in the 16th minute of play forced Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC's goalkeeper Abelardo Janpier to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Abelardo Janpier took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Santino Seco, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After having played for 23 minutes, Todd Gronow managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Todd Gronow was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Abelardo Janpier made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Abram Sarmiento in the 25th minute of play. Axel Montenegro might have been able to make a better finish in the 26th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Abelardo Janpier. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Axel Montenegro ran back to his position shaking his head. Todd Gronow blasted a shot towards the goal in the 30th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Pedro Manzanares having to make a save. Axel Montenegro's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Abelardo Janpier read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 31st minute of play. 33 minutes into the game, Colombia's Axel Montenegro nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Abelardo Janpier made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-1. The supporters of Colombia booed when Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 37 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ildefonso Foro didn't get a good kick on the ball. Abelardo Janpier took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Abram Sarmiento, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The throw-in from Antonio Indiano in the 45th minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC's Mao Yan Yong. 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 Abram Sarmiento to make the kick off. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Axel Montenegro in the 54th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Abelardo Janpier saved Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC from getting behind. After 56 minutes of play, Colombia's Santino Seco made it 1-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Abelardo Janpier was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 61st minute, Todd Gronow 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 2-2. Pedro Manzanares took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Todd Gronow, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Colombia's Abram Secada was substituted for Axel Montenegro. Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC's Gerardo Etxepare was substituted for Fabio Manuelo. Colombia made a substitution. Ignacio Mastache replaced Abram Sarmiento. The supporters of Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC booed when Colombia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 67 match minutes in a wonderful position. Joshua Garrido didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 71st minute the ball was on its way in behind Colombia's goalkeeper Pedro Manzanares, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Pedro Manzanares took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Todd Gronow, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 80th minute, Todd Gronow left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Barbieri de Ituzaingó FC fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-2. The audience thought a goal was coming when Ignacio Mastache got free with Abelardo Janpier in the 84th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Pedro Manzanares didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Todd Gronow went, in the 85th minute, to the upper right corner, 4-2 was the resulting score. Pedro Manzanares made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Andreas Harlén in the 90th minute of play. 92 minutes into the game, Mariusz Ratulowski cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 5-2. Pedro Manzanares was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Colombia's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.