Challenge

Estadio Nacional
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Lighters's Zlatan Bilalov started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. The referee felt a red card was in order, 6 minutes into the game, when Abel Carballo put in a rough tackle. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 5th minute of the game. One of Costa Rica:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Lighters:s goal. Gerasim Slabakov shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. 9 minutes into the game, Zlatan Bilalov cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Benito Sanz was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After 13 minutes of play, Lighters's Zlatan Bilalov made it 0-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Benito Sanz was left in no man's land by his defense there! After 19 minutes, Zlatan Bilalov made it 0-3 with a short kick to the right side. Costa Rica's Benito Sanz tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. In the 23rd minute Zhivko Presolski shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Benito Sanz saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 25 minutes into the match, Radoy Semenov had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Benito Sanz. Costa Rica's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Radoy Semenov was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-5. Lighters's Sven-Arne Tunström suffered a sore thigh after 28 minutes and couldn't finish the game. 28 minutes into the game, Axel Tasis was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Costa Rica's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Lighters the free kick. In the 29th minute, Axel Tasis hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Costa Rica's Benito Sanz played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gerasim Slabakov in the 29th minute of play. Costa Rica's Benito Sanz played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Radoy Semenov in the 31st minute of play. Benito Sanz made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Radoy Semenov in the 36th minute of play. Vladko Kavalov kicked well hit freekick during the 42nd minute of the match. Axel Tasis took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 43rd minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Grigor Ruski. Lighters's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. In the 44th minute, Eliseo Noboa 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. After some fancy dribbling in the 48th minute, Lautaro Puig managed to get in a good position for a shot. Costa Rica's supporters rose to their feet, but Lautaro Puig was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Grigor Ruski breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-5 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Eliseo Noboa was the one to do the kick off. Lighters's Zhivko Presolski got a good chance for a goal in the 52nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Radoy Semenov came free with the goalkeeper in the 64th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Benito Sanz could save by the left post. Radoy Semenov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 66th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 69th minute, Radoy Semenov left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Lighters fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-7. An unexpectedly hard shot by Radoy Semenov in the 74th minute of play forced Costa Rica's goalkeeper Benito Sanz to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 88th minute, Gerasim Slabakov ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Benito Sanz was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-8. Lighters'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.