Challenge

Est Rommel Fernández
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Elpidio Francis took the kick off in the first half of the match. Elpidio Francis scored 0-2 in the 8th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Marcos Cotilla, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Marcos Cotilla made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Elpidio Francis in the 12th minute of play. Jose Carita got a throw-in 14 minutes in the game and the ball was received by Tomas Berganza. ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's Branislav Velchevski played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tomas Berganza in the 15th minute of play. Marcos Cotilla took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Elpidio Francis, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Alex Cambeiro hit a great freekick 27 minutes into the match. 28 minutes into the match, Elpidio Francis had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Marcos Cotilla. Panama's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Elpidio Francis was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. Marcos Cotilla showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Arnaldo Gabon, who was totally free with the ball in the 31st minute. When Isidoro Sarmiento came up free with the goalie in the 33rd 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 Isidoro Sarmiento couldn't finish the play. Branislav Velchevski took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Alex Cambeiro, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Elpidio Francis charged in rather forcefully in the 35th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Elpidio Francis the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 35th match minute, ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Elpidio Francis to maneuver through the defense. In the 37thth minute of the game Elpidio Francis 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 ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA fans' excitement grew in the 37th match minute when ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's Elpidio Francis looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-4 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's Gabriel Erramun managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Jose Carita in the 40 minute of the game. After a defensive mix-up in Panama's zone, Elpidio Francis stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Marcos Cotilla came out of the goal and Elpidio Francis tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Panama's Marcos Cotilla played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Arnaldo Gabon in the 46th minute of play. 47 minutes had been played when some careless play by Panama's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Elpidio Francis was slow to take the kick. During this time ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's players had a chance to rest.

Marcos Cotilla showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Elpidio Francis in the 51st minute of the match. Aaron Barrios's late challenge caught a ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Aaron Barrios helped the player get up and apologised. After 53 played minutes Panama got a freekick which was hit by Aaron Barrios. In the 55th minute Elpidio Francis shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marcos Cotilla saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With splendid footwork Elpidio Francis arrived in front of goal to shoot 0-5 by the left pole in the game's 59th minute. ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA made a substitution. André Monclús replaced Elpidio Francis. An unexpectedly hard shot by Isidoro Sarmiento in the 67th minute of play forced ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's goalkeeper Branislav Velchevski to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 72nd minute, Aristides Asteri managed to get in a good position for a shot. ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's supporters rose to their feet, but Aristides Asteri was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Marcos Cotilla breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 76th match minute, Panama was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Abraham Alguacil to maneuver through the defense. In the 78th minute, Matthew Garrido hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience thought a goal was coming when André Monclús got free with Marcos Cotilla in the 81st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The crowd rose to their feet as ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA's André Monclús slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Marcos Cotilla. That made the score 0-6 after 82 minutes of play. In the 89th minute Abraham Alguacil shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Branislav Velchevski saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a rather tough play, Panama's Matthew Garrido got a free kick in the 92nd minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by André Monclús in the 93rd minute of play forced Panama's goalkeeper Marcos Cotilla to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Panama's Marcos Cotilla played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by André Monclús in the 95th minute of play. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. ESTUDIANTES de la PLATA walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.