Challenge

Lucas E. Abalos
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) After a rather tough play, Abuba Akotonon FC's Ariel Artaldo got a free kick in the 3rd minute. In the 4th minute, Joel Gaona ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Hugo Orlando Gatti was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. 8 minutes into the match, Abuba Akotonon FC's goal looked a bit too open when Alberto Tafalla came free, but Hugo Orlando Gatti reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 12th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Hugo Orlando Gatti saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 14th minute the ball was on its way in behind Abuba Akotonon FC's goalkeeper Hugo Orlando Gatti, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. 14 minutes into the game, Mexico's Joel Gaona nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Hugo Orlando Gatti made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-2. 16 minutes into the match, Mexico's Joel Gaona sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Hugo Orlando Gatti narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Mexico's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Joel Gaona in the 17th minute. Dante Lacasa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Emiliano Enol in the 20th minute of the match. After a rather tough play, Abuba Akotonon FC's Genaro Elivareo got a free kick in the 23rd minute. In the 24th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Hugo Orlando Gatti saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 24 minutes into the game, Joel Gaona cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-3. Hugo Orlando Gatti was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Hugo Orlando Gatti showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Lautaro Mancebo, who was totally free with the ball in the 39th minute. A collision led to Mexico getting a freekick after 40 minutes play. Facundo Cadaval hit a great ball. After 41 played minutes, Abuba Akotonon FC's Genaro Elivareo shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Dante Lacasa came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Abuba Akotonon FC reached it.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Cecilio Tristan stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. With 53 minutes on the clock, Robt Paulet commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. In the 53rd minute, one of Abuba Akotonon FC:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Abuba Akotonon FC. In the 55th minute, Mexico got a penalty, and Joel Gaona placed the ball unsaveable into goal, by the right post. In the 58th minute, Lance Veloz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 64 played minutes Abuba Akotonon FC got a freekick which was hit by Vânderson Barbosa. An unexpectedly hard shot by Luca Zorita in the 69th minute of play forced Abuba Akotonon FC's goalkeeper Hugo Orlando Gatti to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Vânderson Barbosa came up free with the goalie in the 71st minute, the Abuba Akotonon FC 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 Vânderson Barbosa couldn't finish the play. Genaro Elivareo charged in rather forcefully in the 74th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Genaro Elivareo the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Abuba Akotonon FC getting a freekick after 75 minutes play. Genaro Elivareo hit a great ball. After 76 played minutes Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Joel Gaona. A collision led to Abuba Akotonon FC getting a freekick after 78 minutes play. J.J Okocha hit a great ball. In the 81st minute, Joel Gaona 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. In the 83rd minute of the match, Lautaro Mancebo got a very nice opportunity to score, but Hugo Orlando Gatti was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Hugo Orlando Gatti took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Gaona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 92 minutes of play, Mexico's Alberto Tafalla made it 0-5 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Hugo Orlando Gatti was left in no man's land by his defense there! Ariel Artaldo hit a great freekick 94 minutes into the match. Lautaro Mancebo received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Hugo Orlando Gatti came out and tried to block the shot, but Lautaro Mancebo slotted it home off the left post making it 0-6 in the 96th minute. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Mexico eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.