Challenge

Old Trafford
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Valdemar Kuoppala took the kick off in the first half of the match. Edwin van der Sar showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cristian Sancho, who was totally free with the ball in the 8th minute. Daniel Zorita received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 9th minute. Edwin van der Sar tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Edwin van der Sar showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Luis Andino in the 15th minute of the match. 21 minutes into the match, Manchester United FC's goal looked a bit too open when Agustín Saelices came free, but Edwin van der Sar reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Edwin van der Sar made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cristian Sancho in the 22nd minute of play. In the 24thth minute of the game Daniel Zorita who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Manchester United FC's Edwin van der Sar was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Ecuador's Julio Vera proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 29th minute of the match, managed to save Ecuador from getting a goal against them. Davide Beckham received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 31st minute. Julio Vera tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Cristian Sancho received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 34th minute. Edwin van der Sar tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Eero Uusipaavalniemi in the 38th minute of play. Davide Beckham 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. The first half was very even, with the score at 0-0 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

If Cristian Sancho had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 51st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. When Valdemar Kuoppala came up free with the goalie in the 53rd minute, the Manchester United 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 Valdemar Kuoppala couldn't finish the play. 55 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Taisto Pentsinen came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Manchester United FC were awarded a corner in the 56th minute after Ecuador's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Eero Uusipaavalniemi took the corner. Manchester United FC's Edwin van der Sar proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 61st minute of the match, managed to save Manchester United FC from getting a goal against them. 65 minutes into the match, Manchester United FC's Taisto Pentsinen sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Julio Vera narrowly saved just below the crossbar. In the 66th minute of the match Manchester United FC got a corner. Ecuador's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Eero Uusipaavalniemi ran over to the corner to take the kick. A well done corner resulted in Valdemar Kuoppala drilling the ball in to score 1-0 behind Ecuador's goalkeeper. Manchester United FC were awarded a corner in the 70th minute after Ecuador's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Eero Uusipaavalniemi took the corner. The corner ended in Eero Uusipaavalniemi almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but Ecuador's Julio Vera did a great save. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Davide Beckham in the 72nd minute of play. In the 74th minute, Valdemar Kuoppala hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Felix Montenegro kicked well hit freekick during the 75th minute of the match. A collision led to Manchester United FC getting a freekick after 76 minutes play. Gary Neville hit a great ball. Ecuador's Cristian Sancho got a good chance for a goal in the 82nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. 84 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Taisto Pentsinen came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 86th minute of the match Manchester United FC got a corner. Ecuador's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Eero Uusipaavalniemi ran over to the corner to take the kick. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Taisto Pentsinen, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. When Cristian Sancho came up free with the goalie in the 94th minute, the Ecuador 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 Cristian Sancho couldn't finish the play. Manchester United FC's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.