Challenge

Cristal Arena
Spectators: 43 (Terracing: 33, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Tomas Illescas got the match started through his kick off. Patricio Costa received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 5th minute. Elias Bocage tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Elias Bocage stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Tomas Illescas's shot from short distance in the 7th minute. Jonathan Ferrant made a fantastic save in the 12th minute, when Jean-Marc Taillefer sent off a good shot on target. Elias Bocage showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Tomas Illescas, who was totally free with the ball in the 14th minute. 15 minutes into the match, AC Cristal's goal looked a bit too open when Tomas Illescas came free, but Elias Bocage reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, Venezuela's Jose Correa got a free kick in the 16th minute. In the 17th minute of the match, Greg Lequesne tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Jonathan Ferrant saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. If Tomas Illescas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 20th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Greg Lequesne, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 24th minute, Tomas Illescas made a precise shot to the right of Elias Bocage. AC Cristal's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-1. If Jean-François Lajus had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 33rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Geoffrey Plaud kicked well hit freekick during the 39th minute of the match. In the 40th minute of the match Tomas Illescas sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Elias Bocage skillfully saved the ball. Tomas Illescas sent away a hard shot on goal in the 44th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 46th minute, AC Cristal's Roland Graziani seemed to kick out at an opponent. The referee saw this and, surprisingly, showed Roland Graziani the red card, dismissing him from the pitch. The coaching staff of AC Cristal protested bitterly, but the referee would have none of it, and Roland Graziani had no choice but to slowly walk off the pitch. The referee gave Venezuela a penalty, 48 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Tomas Illescas, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of AC Cristal's Elias Bocage. 0-2. The AC Cristal players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Venezuela were winning 0-2.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Greg Lequesne to make the kick off. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Greg Lequesne, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 58 minutes Venezuela's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Robert Bardin who took care of the corner kick. The corner ended in Robert Bardin almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant did a great save. Tomas Illescas in the 61stth minute had a little luck and got a chance for a shot in front of the goal. Without hesitation aimed to the right of Elias Bocage, who managed to lunge to the right direction and made a save. With a little luck, AC Cristal's Elias Bocage got control of the ball when Tomas Illescas tried to sneak it across the goal line. Greg Lequesne sent away a hard shot on goal in the 67th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Tomas Illescas struck a weak shot in the 71st minute. Elias Bocage didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Venezuela. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Greg Lequesne, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Venezuela's Tomas Illescas got a good chance for a goal in the 75th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The crowd rose to their feet as Tomas Illescas kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Elias Bocage. That made the score 0-3 in the 76 minute of play. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Jose Correa during the 81st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After a rather tough play, Venezuela's Jose Correa got a free kick in the 82nd minute. Jonathan Ferrant made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Greg Lequesne in the 84th minute of play. Jonathan Ferrant came out of the goal in the 84th minute to try and stop a shot by AC Cristal's Greg Lequesne. But to his dismay, Greg Lequesne quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-3. AC Cristal's Elias Bocage proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 88th minute of the match, managed to save AC Cristal from getting a goal against them. Elias Bocage was a little too slow when Tomas Illescas got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 88th minute. The score was now 1-4. Jonathan Ferrant made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Greg Lequesne in the 92nd minute of play. Camilo Gaos hit a great freekick 94 minutes into the match. When Geoffrey Plaud fell near the penalty area in the 96th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored AC Cristal's protests and gave Geoffrey Plaud a yellow card for diving instead. In the 96th match minute, AC Cristal was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Geoffrey Plaud to maneuver through the defense. Elias Bocage made an important save on a dangerous shot by Tomas Illescas in the 97th minute. The AC Cristal supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Venezuela's performance. The match ended with a win for Venezuela.