Challenge

Lauton Park
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Nacho Barbutski kicked off to start the match. Ilcho Argirov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 3rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Vladimir Tomanov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Zorita in the 5th minute of the match. 5 minutes into the game, Daniel Zorita cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Vladimir Tomanov was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Vladimir Tomanov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cristian Sancho, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 9 minutes had been played when some careless play by Loko Plovdiv's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Daniel Zorita was slow to take the kick. During this time Ecuador's players had a chance to rest. After having played for 10 minutes, Nacho Barbutski managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Loko Plovdiv's supporters crossed their fingers, but Nacho Barbutski was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 13th minute, Cristian Sancho 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. Julio Vera showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nacho Barbutski, who was totally free with the ball in the 16th minute. Primitivo Andino hit a great freekick 17 minutes into the match. In the 19th minute the ball was on its way in behind Loko Plovdiv's goalkeeper Vladimir Tomanov, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 21 minutes into the match, Loko Plovdiv's goal looked a bit too open when Agustín Saelices came free, but Vladimir Tomanov reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 26 minutes into the game, Ecuador's Daniel Zorita nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Vladimir Tomanov made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-2. Vladimir Tomanov made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cristian Sancho in the 29th minute of play. 32 minutes into the game, Kalin Mitrushev was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Loko Plovdiv's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ecuador the free kick. A collision led to Loko Plovdiv getting a freekick after 32 minutes play. Kalin Mitrushev hit a great ball. In the 33rd match minute, Loko Plovdiv was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Nacho Barbutski to maneuver through the defense. Vladimir Tomanov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cristian Sancho, who was totally free with the ball in the 35th minute. With a little luck, Ecuador's Julio Vera got control of the ball when Nacho Barbutski tried to sneak it across the goal line. After taking down the ball on Loko Plovdiv's corner Nacho Barbutski fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Julio Vera quite easily take care of the ball. In the 38th minute Kalin Mitrushev shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Julio Vera saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Vladimir Tomanov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Zorita in the 41st minute of the match. A nice corner shot did that Daniel Zorita got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Vladimir Tomanov quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Ecuador's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Daniel Zorita in the 46th minute. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Loko Plovdiv's goalie and right to Juan Sebastián Puig. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Loko Plovdiv's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Daniel Zorita to make the kick off. Loko Plovdiv's Vladimir Tomanov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Agustín Saelices in the 51st minute of play. Cristian Sancho fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 53rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Vladimir Tomanov having to interfere. Cristian Sancho could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 56th minute of the match, but Vladimir Tomanov made a huge save. If Cristian Sancho had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 58th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Loko Plovdiv made a substitution. Dencho Yashev replaced Genadi Ahmakov. In the 64th minute, Loko Plovdiv's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Daniel Zorita fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. 67 minutes into the match, Loko Plovdiv's goalkeeper Vladimir Tomanov had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Cristian Sancho. Cristian Sancho received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Vladimir Tomanov came out and tried to block the shot, but Cristian Sancho slotted it home off the left post making it 0-3 in the 67th minute. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nacho Barbutski, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 74th minute of the match, Daniel Zorita got a very nice opportunity to score, but Vladimir Tomanov was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Cristian Sancho received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 75th minute. Vladimir Tomanov tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After having played for 76 minutes, Nacho Barbutski managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Loko Plovdiv's supporters crossed their fingers, but Nacho Barbutski was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Daniel Zorita might have been able to make a better finish in the 79th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Vladimir Tomanov. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Daniel Zorita ran back to his position shaking his head. Vladimir Tomanov was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Daniel Zorita showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 0-4 in the 84 minute of play. When Daniel Zorita came up free with the goalie in the 88th minute, the Ecuador 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 Daniel Zorita couldn't finish the play. Daniel Zorita recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 90th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Vladimir Tomanov came out of the goal in the 92nd minute to try and stop a shot by Ecuador's Daniel Zorita. But to his dismay, Daniel Zorita quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-5. In the 95th minute, Luis Andino hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The Loko Plovdiv fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Ecuador were clearly better and deserved to take the win.