Challenge

Arena Cruzeiro
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Cassius Byrne kicked off to start the match. Zbigniew Zatorski in the 4thth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Marco Day, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. In the 15th minute Monty Rogers shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Raphael Dantas saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Monty Rogers in the 17th minute of play forced Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s goalkeeper Raphael Dantas to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Raphael Dantas showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Edward Mcdonald in the 22nd minute of the match. 28 minutes into the match, USA's goalkeeper Marco Day had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Tony Thanos. Zbigniew Zatorski who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 35thth minute tested the skills of Marco Day when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Zbigniew Zatorski sent away a hard shot on goal in the 36th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 38 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s goal looked a bit too open when Monty Rogers came free, but Raphael Dantas reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Simo Mihklisaar fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 39th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Marco Day having to interfere. After 47 played minutes Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- got a freekick which was hit by Sílvio Luiz Vieira. Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- made a substitution. Mauro Quirino replaced Dobromir Malewicki. In the 48th minute, Sílvio Luiz Vieira hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 49th minute of the match Cassius Byrne shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Raphael Dantas showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. The first half was very even, with the score at 0-0 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Zbigniew Zatorski was the one to do the kick off. Marco Day made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Kristofer Peck in the 52nd minute of play. Raphael Dantas made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cassius Byrne in the 55th minute of play. Raphael Dantas made an important save on a dangerous shot by Cassius Byrne in the 57th minute. Kristofer Peck fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 59th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Marco Day having to interfere. Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s Raphael Dantas played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cassius Byrne in the 61st minute of play. Tony Thanos's late challenge caught a USA's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Tony Thanos helped the player get up and apologised. The supporters of USA booed when Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 65 match minutes in a wonderful position. Tony Thanos didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 66 played minutes Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- got a freekick which was hit by Tony Thanos. Raphael Dantas made an important save on a dangerous shot by Cassius Byrne in the 67th minute. Marco Day showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Zbigniew Zatorski, who was totally free with the ball in the 69th minute. In the 70th minute, Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s Xiao Fenge seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Xiao Fenge the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Xiao Fenge had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. USA's Sam Campbell was substituted for Cassius Byrne. In a very dangerous position, a player in Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 70th minute. Penalty! The referee gave USA a penalty, 73 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Monty Rogers, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s Raphael Dantas. 0-1. Raphael Dantas showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Sam Campbell in the 77th minute of the match. 0-2 became the score in the 81st minute when Monty Rogers elegantly shot the ball into goal just under the crossbar. USA made a substitution. Khalid Parry replaced Monty Rogers. USA's Marco Baker was substituted for Edward Mcdonald. In the 86th minute Zbigniew Zatorski shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marco Day saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. USA's Marco Day played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Zbigniew Zatorski in the 86th minute of play. In the 92nd minute, Sam Campbell reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Raphael Dantas. The goal made the score 0-3. In the 96th minute USA were awarded a corner. Jenson Smith went to the cornerflag to take it. Raphael Dantas made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Khalid Parry in the 99th minute of play. Raphael Dantas took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Khalid Parry, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When the final whistle sounded USA left the ground with the victory after a much better performance than Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-.