Challenge

Folke Anderson
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Joel Gaona started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Lautaro Mancebo made in the 6th minute of the game a fairly good throw-in which was taken care of by Facundo Cadaval. Esmeraldas S.C.'s Aguinaga Nebot played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alberto Tafalla in the 7th minute of play. Dante Lacasa made a fantastic save in the 12th minute, when Damian Maftei sent off a good shot on target. Dante Lacasa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from İbrahim Volkan in the 13th minute of play. Esmeraldas S.C.'s Aguinaga Nebot played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Joel Gaona in the 14th minute of play. Aguinaga Nebot showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Facundo Cadaval in the 16th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Alberto Tafalla in the 17th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Aguinaga Nebot saved Esmeraldas S.C. from getting behind. Mexico's Dante Lacasa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Oskar Petersson in the 20th minute of play. After 21 minutes Mexico's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Stefanos Terzopoulos who took care of the corner kick. A well-hit corner resulted in Martinez Cines heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. In the 25th minute, Luca Zorita made a precise shot to the right of Aguinaga Nebot. Esmeraldas S.C.'s defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. When Facundo Cadaval came up free with the goalie in the 31st minute, the Mexico 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 Facundo Cadaval couldn't finish the play. Aguinaga Nebot took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Gaona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Oskar Petersson could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 38th minute of the match, but Dante Lacasa made a huge save. Aguinaga Nebot took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lautaro Mancebo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. If Lautaro Mancebo had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 42nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-2.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when İbrahim Volkan stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Dante Lacasa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from İbrahim Volkan in the 53rd minute of play. Aguinaga Nebot made an important save on a dangerous shot by Lautaro Mancebo in the 58th minute. With an all-out effort, Mexico's Aguinaga Nebot threw himself towards the right post 60 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Joel Gaona, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. In the 61st minute of the match Mexico got a corner. Esmeraldas S.C.'s goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Joel Gaona ran over to the corner to take the kick. After a rather tough play, Mexico's Luca Zorita got a free kick in the 61st minute. In the 61st minute, Mexico's Luca Zorita fired away a free kick that almost went in the goal. Aguinaga Nebot was prepared for the shot, but didn't have to make a play as the shot flew over the goal. In the 63rd match minute, Mexico was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Luca Zorita to maneuver through the defense. If Luca Zorita had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 65th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After having played for 66 minutes, İbrahim Volkan managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Esmeraldas S.C.'s supporters crossed their fingers, but İbrahim Volkan was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Joel Gaona in the 68th minute of play forced Esmeraldas S.C.'s goalkeeper Aguinaga Nebot to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a little luck, Esmeraldas S.C.'s Aguinaga Nebot got control of the ball when Lautaro Mancebo tried to sneak it across the goal line. An unexpected shot in the 76th minute by Lautaro Mancebo got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. In the 77th match minute, Esmeraldas S.C. was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ghitã Fratea to maneuver through the defense. 82 minutes had been played when some careless play by Mexico's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Stefanos Terzopoulos was slow to take the kick. During this time Esmeraldas S.C.'s players had a chance to rest. Lautaro Mancebo might have been able to make a better finish in the 95th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Aguinaga Nebot. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Lautaro Mancebo ran back to his position shaking his head. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Castillo in the 96th minute of the match. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Mexico had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.