Challenge

Estadio Olímpico
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Ecuador's Daniel Zorita 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. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Abdi Mehmet Rakim in the 3rd minute of play. 10 minutes into the match, The Everett Hawks's goalkeeper Ludo Vanden Bossche had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Daniel Zorita. If Daniel Zorita had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 14th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 17th minute, Abdi Mehmet Rakim ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Julio Vera was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Daniel Zorita could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 26th minute of the match, but Ludo Vanden Bossche made a huge save. The Everett Hawks's Ludo Vanden Bossche proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 32nd minute of the match, managed to save The Everett Hawks from getting a goal against them. The corner went over the outstretched arms of The Everett Hawks's goalie and right to Luis Andino. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. The Everett Hawks's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Abdi Mehmet Rakim in the 41st minute of play. 47 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Philippe-Arnaud Heremans came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Abdi Mehmet Rakim to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 51st minute Abdi Mehmet Rakim 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. In the 53rd match minute, The Everett Hawks was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Fre van Eijnde to maneuver through the defense. When Willem-Jan Grootjans came up free with the goalie in the 55th minute, the The Everett Hawks 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 Willem-Jan Grootjans couldn't finish the play. After 60 minutes The Everett Hawks's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Daniel Zorita who took care of the corner kick. The Everett Hawks's Ludo Vanden Bossche played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Daniel Zorita in the 64th minute of play. When Fre van Eijnde came up free with the goalie in the 66th minute, the The Everett Hawks 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 Fre van Eijnde couldn't finish the play. 70 minutes into the game, Tanek Fronczak was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. The Everett Hawks's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Ecuador the free kick. 73 minutes into the match, Fre van Eijnde dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Julio Vera, 2-2. 78 minutes into the match, The Everett Hawks's goal looked a bit too open when Cristian Sancho came free, but Ludo Vanden Bossche reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The audience was convinced that Philippe-Arnaud Heremans's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Julio Vera was relentless in the 83rd minute of the game. Ludo Vanden Bossche made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daniel Zorita in the 86th minute of play. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Abdi Mehmet Rakim, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Philippe-Arnaud Heremans in the 91st minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Philippe-Arnaud Heremans received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Julio Vera came out and tried to block the shot, but Philippe-Arnaud Heremans slotted it home off the left post making it 2-3 in the 96th minute. The Everett Hawks were delighted with the way they had won the match. They had held their defensive line well and made the most of their chances, to claim a victory over Ecuador's much stronger midfield.