Challenge

Patissia Arena
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Daniel Zorita kicked off to start the match. After some careless play in the Paralia Athens defense, Daniel Zorita kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Cristian Nicolescu. The Paralia Athens fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Cristian Nicolescu should have stopped the shot. Daniel Zorita received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Cristian Nicolescu tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 13 minutes into the game, Gelu Beșliu was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Paralia Athens's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ecuador the free kick. Gelu Beșliu hit a great freekick 13 minutes into the match. Daniel Zorita took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 13th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Cristian Nicolescu. Paralia Athens's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. If Petre Maghiran had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 16th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Cristian Nicolescu made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daniel Zorita in the 17th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Petre Maghiran got free with Julio Vera in the 25th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Julio Vera was a little too slow when Petre Maghiran got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 28th minute. The score was now 1-1. Cristian Nicolescu showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Daniel Zorita, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. When Iulian Doinaș came up free with the goalie in the 35th minute, the Paralia Athens 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 Iulian Doinaș couldn't finish the play. After 38 played minutes Ecuador got a freekick which was hit by Cristian Sancho. Cristian Nicolescu showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cristian Sancho in the 40th minute of the match. Cristian Sancho scored 1-3 in the 46th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Cristian Nicolescu, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 1-3.

Cristian Sancho blasted a shot towards the goal in the 53rd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Cristian Nicolescu having to make a save. The audience thought a goal was coming when Cristian Sancho got free with Cristian Nicolescu in the 55th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After 61 minutes of play Paralia Athens's Gelu Beșliu was too eager in his attempt to stop his opponent and brought him down. With that he got his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. In the 62nd minute, Gelu Beșliu hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 64 minutes into the game, Cristian Sancho cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-4. Cristian Nicolescu was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. 70 minutes into the match, Cristian Sancho dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Cristian Nicolescu, 1-5. Daniel Zorita who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 73rdth minute tested the skills of Cristian Nicolescu when he managed to save the team from getting behind. The audience was convinced that Daniel Zorita's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Cristian Nicolescu was relentless in the 73rd minute of the game. Cristian Sancho recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 78th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Ilie Tudoran during the 81st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 81st minute, Ilie Tudoran hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Thanks to some nice moves Daniel Zorita could shoot a difficult shot in the 82nd minute, which Cristian Nicolescu however easily saved by the left post. Daniel Zorita received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 83rd minute. Cristian Nicolescu tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Mircea Robu charged in rather forcefully in the 86th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Mircea Robu the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Mircea Robu hit a great freekick 86 minutes into the match. The audience thought a goal was coming when Felix Montenegro got free with Cristian Nicolescu in the 88th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. With a little luck, Paralia Athens's Cristian Nicolescu got control of the ball when Daniel Zorita tried to sneak it across the goal line. Ecuador were awarded a corner in the 91th minute after Paralia Athens's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Daniel Zorita took the corner. A nice corner shot did that Daniel Zorita got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Cristian Nicolescu quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. 93 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Petre Maghiran came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Cristian Sancho struck a weak shot in the 94th minute. Cristian Nicolescu didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Ecuador. Ecuador's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.