Challenge

Estadio Azteca
Spectators: 44 (Terracing: 34, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Joel Gaona took the kick off in the first half of the match. 4 minutes into the match, Hydra's goalkeeper Orlando Chepe had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Lautaro Mancebo. Hydra's Orlando Chepe proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 11th minute of the match, managed to save Hydra from getting a goal against them. David Beckham hit a great freekick 15 minutes into the match. With a little luck, Hydra's Orlando Chepe got control of the ball when Lautaro Mancebo tried to sneak it across the goal line. Dante Lacasa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Manoel Xavier in the 21st minute of play. 25 minutes into the game, Manoel Xavier cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Dante Lacasa was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Felix Luque hit a great freekick 28 minutes into the match. After having played for 31 minutes, Alberto Tafalla managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Mexico's supporters crossed their fingers, but Alberto Tafalla was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After a rather tough play, Hydra's Kris Longden got a free kick in the 34th minute. Hydra's Orlando Chepe proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 35th minute of the match, managed to save Hydra from getting a goal against them. After 39 played minutes Mexico got a freekick which was hit by Leonardo Leoz. When the match clock showed 42 minutes, the score became 1-1 when Alberto Tafalla sped through Hydra's defense and sent away a curving shot that went into the net to the right of Orlando Chepe. After 46 minutes of play, Mexico's Lautaro Mancebo made it 2-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Orlando Chepe was left in no man's land by his defense there! No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-1 at half-time.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Manoel Xavier made a kick off. After 51 minutes, Mario Emmanuel mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Hydra and the Mexico players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 51st match minute, Hydra was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Mario Emmanuel to maneuver through the defense. Orlando Chepe took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lautaro Mancebo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Hydra's Orlando Chepe played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Lautaro Mancebo in the 59th minute of play. The referee gave Mexico a penalty, 62 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Joel Gaona, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Hydra's Orlando Chepe. 3-1. Dante Lacasa made an important save on a dangerous shot by Laurin Roca in the 72nd minute. Hydra were awarded a corner in the 73th minute after Mexico's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Jannis Van de Loock took the corner. A nice corner shot did that Laurin Roca got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Dante Lacasa quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. The audience was convinced that Alberto Tafalla's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Orlando Chepe was relentless in the 78th minute of the game. When Hydra's Ruben Reyes in the 80th minute got a chance for a shot 80th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Mexico's goalie prevented a goal. The crowd rose to their feet as Hydra's Laurin Roca slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Dante Lacasa. That made the score 3-2 after 83 minutes of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Joel Gaona in the 87th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Orlando Chepe prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Orlando Chepe 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 90th minute. After a rather tough play, Mexico's Lorenzo Cazalla got a free kick in the 91st minute. In the 91st minute, Leonardo Leoz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some fancy dribbling in the 93rd minute, Manoel Xavier managed to get in a good position for a shot. Hydra's supporters rose to their feet, but Manoel Xavier was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Dante Lacasa breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick.