Challenge

Estadio Olímpico
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) If Nikifor Vardev had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 6th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. When CSKA's Nikifor Vardev in the 6th minute got a chance for a shot 6th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Ecuador's goalie prevented a goal. When Nikifor Vardev came up free with the goalie in the 8th minute, the CSKA 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 Nikifor Vardev couldn't finish the play. Julio Vera showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Nikifor Vardev, who was totally free with the ball in the 10th minute. 12 minutes into the game, Ecuador's Daniel Zorita nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Todor Slaveev made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-0. In the 15th minute the ball was on its way in behind Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Svetlan Lazarov during the 17th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to CSKA getting a freekick after 17 minutes play. Svetlan Lazarov hit a great ball. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 19th minute of the game. One of Ecuador:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of CSKA:s goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Daniel Zorita got free with Todor Slaveev in the 23rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Todor Slaveev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Luis Andino, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Daniel Zorita's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Todor Slaveev firmly grabbed it by the left post. 27 minutes into the match, Nikifor Vardev notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of Ecuador's Julio Vera. Julio Vera was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. After 30 played minutes Ecuador got a freekick which was hit by Primitivo Andino. 34 minutes into the match, CSKA's goalkeeper Todor Slaveev had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Daniel Zorita. Julio Vera showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nikifor Vardev in the 37th minute of the match. Ecuador:s Julio Vera showed great skill when he stopped Svetlan Lazarov:s penalty. In the 41st minute, Svetlan Lazarov left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The CSKA fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-3. In the 45th match minute, CSKA was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Koulis Varakis to maneuver through the defense. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 1-3 lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Nikifor Vardev stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Nikifor Vardev in the 54th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Julio Vera saved Ecuador from getting behind. After 55 minutes, Koulis Varakis mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the CSKA and the Ecuador players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 55 played minutes CSKA got a freekick which was hit by Koulis Varakis. In the 59th minute the ball was on its way in behind Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. The audience thought a goal was coming when Nikifor Vardev got free with Julio Vera in the 62nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 65th minute, Radoy Patarinski hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. During the 66th minute of the match Svetlan Lazarov completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Svetlan Lazarov a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. A collision led to CSKA getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Svetlan Lazarov hit a great ball. Daniel Zorita struck a weak shot in the 70th minute. Todor Slaveev didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Ecuador. Todor Slaveev 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 73rd minute. Todor Slaveev took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Luis Andino, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When the match clock showed 80 minutes, the score became 1-5 when Nikifor Vardev sped through Ecuador's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Julio Vera. If Nikifor Vardev had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 84th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 89th minute the ball was on its way in behind Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 90 minutes had been played when some careless play by Ecuador's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Martin Petrov was slow to take the kick. During this time CSKA's players had a chance to rest. After a rather tough play, Ecuador's Primitivo Andino got a free kick in the 96th minute. CSKA's supporters were very happy and cheered loudly because their team had won after a very close match.