Challenge

Marcelo A. Bielsa
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Bernabe Armani took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Luis Andino, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Alexander Palmer's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Julio Vera was relentless in the 13th minute of the game. 16 minutes into the match, Felix Montenegro notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of Growlithe FC's Bernabe Armani. Bernabe Armani was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. In the 19th minute, Juan Sebastián Puig hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 20th minute of the match Ahmet Baki Ulualp sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Julio Vera skillfully saved the ball. 22 minutes into the match, Growlithe FC's goal looked a bit too open when Daniel Zorita came free, but Bernabe Armani reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 23rd match minute, Growlithe FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ionuț Pandele to maneuver through the defense. In the 26th play minute Alexander Palmer came free and shot an unsuspected shot which went into goal from the right pole behind a surprised Julio Vera. 1-1. 29 minutes into the match, Alexander Palmer had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Julio Vera. Ecuador's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Alexander Palmer was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cristian Sancho in the 33rd minute of play forced Growlithe FC's goalkeeper Bernabe Armani to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Alexander Palmer could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 35th minute of the match, but Julio Vera made a huge save. An unexpectedly hard shot by Luis Andino in the 37th minute of play forced Growlithe FC's goalkeeper Bernabe Armani to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 40 minutes into the match, Alexander Palmer dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Julio Vera, 3-1. Bernabe Armani showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Daniel Zorita, who was totally free with the ball in the 43rd minute. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 3-1.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Daniel Zorita was the one to do the kick off. 53 minutes into the match, Growlithe FC's Alexander Palmer sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Julio Vera narrowly saved just below the crossbar. 54 minutes had been played when some careless play by Ecuador's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Ahmet Baki Ulualp was slow to take the kick. During this time Growlithe FC's players had a chance to rest. Bernabe Armani 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 57th minute. Ecuador were awarded a corner in the 58th minute after Growlithe FC's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Daniel Zorita took the corner. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alexander Palmer in the 63rd minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Julio Vera showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Alexander Palmer, who was totally free with the ball in the 65th minute. Daniel Zorita's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Bernabe Armani firmly grabbed it by the left post. Alexander Palmer scored 4-1 in the 69th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Julio Vera, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Growlithe FC's Barış Ziya was substituted for Alexander Palmer. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Barış Ziya in the 74th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Ecuador's zone, Barış Ziya stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Julio Vera came out of the goal and Barış Ziya tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After a rather tough play, Growlithe FC's Eros Mancuso got a free kick in the 85th minute. After 93 played minutes Ecuador got a freekick which was hit by Primitivo Andino. The home crowd let out a huge roar when the referee blew for the end of the game. Growlithe FC were victorious despite being under pressure from Ecuador for much of the match.