Challenge

Nilton Santos
Spectators: 41 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Daniel Zorita started the match with the kick off. In the 3rd 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. Estrela Solitária's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Chicão Amorim in the 5th minute. Estrela Solitária's Benjamim Dante played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cristian Sancho in the 11th minute of play. 13 minutes into the match, Estrela Solitária's Sandrinho Hoffmann sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Julio Vera narrowly saved just below the crossbar. In the 18th 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. After 22 minutes of play, Ecuador's Daniel Zorita made it 1-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Benjamim Dante was left in no man's land by his defense there! A sloppy throw-in by Primitivo Andino in the 27th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Estrela Solitária's Naldo Rossi. 30 minutes into the game, Juan Sebastián Puig was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Ecuador's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Estrela Solitária the free kick. After 30 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Ecuador! Ecuador:s Julio Vera showed great skill when he stopped Chicão Amorim:s penalty. The crowd rose to their feet as Sandrinho Hoffmann kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Julio Vera. That made the score 2-1 in the 36 minute of play. Julio Vera made a fantastic save in the 43rd minute, when Sandrinho Hoffmann sent off a good shot on target. Estrela Solitária's Benjamim Dante played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Daniel Zorita in the 45th minute of play. Sandrinho Hoffmann took the ball and in the 46 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Julio Vera. Julio Vera dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 3-1. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 3-1 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Dudu Meira to make the kick off. Julio Vera showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gerd Müller in the 54th minute of the match. 56 minutes into the game, Gerd Müller cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 4-1. Julio Vera was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. 61 minutes had been played when some careless play by Estrela Solitária's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Daniel Zorita was slow to take the kick. During this time Ecuador's players had a chance to rest. The corner ended in Daniel Zorita almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Estrela Solitária's Benjamim Dante did a great save. Julio Vera came out of the goal in the 64th minute to try and stop a shot by Estrela Solitária's Gerd Müller. But to his dismay, Gerd Müller quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 5-1. After 68 played minutes Ecuador's Daniel Zorita stole the ball from his opponents and shot the ball towards the upper left corner, but Benjamim Dante stretched himself as far as he could, and stopped the ball from passing the line. robbing Estrela Solitária of the goal. Daniel Zorita who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 70thth minute tested the skills of Benjamim Dante when he managed to save the team from getting behind. If Gerd Müller had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 76th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gerd Müller in the 76th minute of play. Gerd Müller's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Julio Vera read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 83rd minute of play. A collision led to Estrela Solitária getting a freekick after 86 minutes play. Willian Gaúcho hit a great ball. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Gerd Müller in the 90th minute of play. Julio Vera stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Gerd Müller's shot from short distance in the 90th minute. In the 92nd minute, Cristian Sancho 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. Many of Ecuador's supporters were seen to leave the ground early as it became clear their team was going to lose. Ecuador may have spent more time on the ball, but Estrela Solitária were more willing to take their chances and they walked away with the win.