Challenge

ÁNGEL TULIO ZOF
Spectators: 39 (Terracing: 30, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Tomas Illescas took the kick off in the first half of the match. In the 5th minute, Venezuela's Guillermo Mariano seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Guillermo Mariano the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of Venezuela protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Guillermo Mariano had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 5th minute of the game. One of Venezuela:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Rosario Central:s goal. After 7 minutes Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant managed, with a little bit of luck, save Nicanor Burutzagi's penalty, on his right side after a tricky shot. In the 7th minute, Nicanor Burutzagi left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Rosario Central fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-0. Jose Correa charged in rather forcefully in the 10th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Jose Correa the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. In the 14th minute, Segundo Ucieda got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. After 18 played minutes Venezuela got a freekick which was hit by Patricio Costa. After 20 played minutes Rosario Central got a freekick which was hit by Cesar Evis. 37 minutes into the match, Segundo Ucieda notched a goal, 2-0, to the right of Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant. Jonathan Ferrant was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. When Nicanor Burutzagi fell near the penalty area in the 39th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Rosario Central's protests and gave Nicanor Burutzagi a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Rosario Central getting a freekick after 39 minutes play. Nicanor Burutzagi hit a great ball. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 2-0.

The wind increased when Rodolfo Egoi made the kick off in the second half. Cesar Evis hit a great freekick 54 minutes into the match. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Segundo Ucieda during the 55th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Venezuela booed when Rosario Central was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 55 match minutes in a wonderful position. Segundo Ucieda didn't get a good kick on the ball. Rosario Central's Alvaro Urre played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Jose Correa in the 58th minute of play. Cesar Evis made in the 60th minute of the game a quick throw-in and Jacinto Txartiko immediately put the ball in play. Cesar Evis kicked well hit freekick during the 65th minute of the match. Jonathan Ferrant showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Placido Gartzea, who was totally free with the ball in the 69th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Patricio Costa in the 71st minute of play forced Rosario Central's goalkeeper Alvaro Urre to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Patricio Costa sent away a hard shot on goal in the 74th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Jonathan Ferrant made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rodolfo Egoi in the 76th minute of play. During the 93rd minute of the match Nicanor Burutzagi completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Nicanor Burutzagi a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. Venezuela's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.