Challenge

Est Rommel Fernández
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Faas Gol started the match with the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Yuri Almeida in the 4th minute of play forced Panama's goalkeeper Marcos Cotilla to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Tomas Berganza received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 5th minute. Cosme Pere tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Felipe Ros had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Cosme Pere showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Tomas Berganza, who was totally free with the ball in the 9th minute. 13 minutes into the match, Panama's goal looked a bit too open when Vágner da Rocha came free, but Marcos Cotilla reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, Aguias Praianas FC's Yuri Almeida got a free kick in the 14th minute. When Tomas Berganza came up free with the goalie in the 15th minute, the Panama 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 Berganza couldn't finish the play. Cosme Pere had in the 21stth minute some difficulties stopping Abraham Alguacil's well aimed penalty as it nearly passed him on his left side, but he still managed to hold the ball. 22 minutes into the match, Vágner da Rocha notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of Panama's Marcos Cotilla. Marcos Cotilla was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rogerio Batistuta in the 26th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Marcos Cotilla prevented the ball from getting in the gole. 31 minutes into the game, Faas Gol cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-3. Marcos Cotilla was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. In the 45thth minute of the game Rogerio Batistuta who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Panama's Marcos Cotilla was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 1-3.

A collision led to Panama getting a freekick after 58 minutes play. Alex Cambeiro hit a great ball. If Tomas Berganza had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 66th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. 67 minutes into the game, Rogerio Batistuta was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Aguias Praianas FC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Panama the free kick. Rogerio Batistuta hit a great freekick 67 minutes into the match. Cosme Pere didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Tomas Berganza went, in the 68th minute, to the upper right corner, 2-3 was the resulting score. Cosme Pere took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Tomas Berganza, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 72 minutes into the game, Panama's Tomas Berganza nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Cosme Pere made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 3-3. With a little luck, Panama's Marcos Cotilla got control of the ball when Yuri Almeida tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 77th minute, Sílvio Luiz Vasconcelos hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After having played for 81 minutes, Tomas Berganza managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Panama's supporters crossed their fingers, but Tomas Berganza was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Tomas Berganza blasted a shot towards the goal in the 83rd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Cosme Pere having to make a save. The audience thought a goal was coming when Yuri Almeida got free with Marcos Cotilla in the 92nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Neither set of supporters seemed pleased with the draw, but both teams had played equally well today.