Challenge

Estadio Azteca
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Gwidon Patora took the kick off in the first half of the match. Luca Rouco hit a great freekick 5 minutes into the match. In the 6th minute of the match Song Xing shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Dante Lacasa showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. 7 minutes had been played when some careless play by Mexico's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Song Xing was slow to take the kick. During this time Veth Crystals's players had a chance to rest. A nice corner shot did that Song Xing got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Dante Lacasa quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gwidon Patora in the 9th minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gwidon Patora in the 11th minute of the match. A collision led to Mexico getting a freekick after 14 minutes play. Luca Zorita hit a great ball. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gwidon Patora in the 18th minute of the match. Dante Lacasa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Carlos-Armando Valderrama, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Joel Gaona in the 31st minute of play forced Veth Crystals's goalkeeper Marcos Lama to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 36 minutes into the match, Mexico's Alberto Tafalla sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Marcos Lama narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Marcos Lama took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alberto Tafalla, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Lautaro Mancebo made a well adjusted shot against goal in the 39thth minute coming free in front of the goal, but Marcos Lama would not let the ball come through at any expense and made a nice save by the left post. Mexico were awarded a corner in the 40th minute after Veth Crystals's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Joel Gaona took the corner. A well-hit corner resulted in Alberto Tafalla heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. Veth Crystals's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Song Xing in the 44th minute. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Mexico's goalie and right to He Lin Di. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Mexico's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. Lautaro Mancebo could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 46th minute of the match, but Marcos Lama made a huge save. After having played for 47 minutes, Joel Gaona managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Mexico's supporters crossed their fingers, but Joel Gaona was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The first half was very even, with the score at 0-0 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

Dante Lacasa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gwidon Patora, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 54 minutes into the game, Mexico's Lautaro Mancebo nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Marcos Lama made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-0. Dante Lacasa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gwidon Patora, who was totally free with the ball in the 58th minute. Gwidon Patora did some fancy footwork in front of goal and succeeded to deceive the defenders so he could slam the ball in 1-1 to the left of a surprised Dante Lacasa 58 minutes into the match. 61 minutes into the match, Veth Crystals's goal looked a bit too open when Lautaro Mancebo came free, but Marcos Lama reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 69th minute Alberto Tafalla shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marcos Lama saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The audience was convinced that Gwidon Patora's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dante Lacasa was relentless in the 71st minute of the game. Gwidon Patora could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 75th minute of the match, but Dante Lacasa made a huge save. 77 minutes into the game, Mexico's Joel Gaona nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Marcos Lama made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-2. Veth Crystals's Sebastian Wierzchowski was substituted for He Lin Di. In the 85th minute, Facundo Cadaval left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Mexico fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-2. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Joel Gaona in the 91st managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Marcos Lama saved Veth Crystals from getting behind. Gwidon Patora hit a great freekick 93 minutes into the match. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Mexico fully deserved thier win.