Challenge

Elland Road
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Daniel Zorita sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. EW® Leeds's Nikifor Ruzhekov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Daniel Zorita in the 7th minute of play. Kostadin Nenov kicked well hit freekick during the 8th minute of the match. In the 13th minute Cristian Sancho shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nikifor Ruzhekov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Ecuador were awarded a corner in the 14th minute after EW® Leeds's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Daniel Zorita took the corner. When Cristian Sancho came up free with the goalie in the 15th 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. In the 18th minute Daniel Zorita shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nikifor Ruzhekov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 29th minute Tervel Dushanov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Julio Vera saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 30th minute, Kostadin Nenov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Daniel Zorita took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 30th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Nikifor Ruzhekov. EW® Leeds's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Tervel Dushanov in the 33rd minute of play. In the 34th minute of the match EW® Leeds 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. Pavlin Mogilanski ran over to the corner to take the kick. EW® Leeds's Pavlin Mogilanski was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Julio Vera in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. Nikifor Ruzhekov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Daniel Zorita, who was totally free with the ball in the 37th minute. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Slavi Dramov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Tervel Dushanov to make the kick off. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Slavi Dramov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After some fancy dribbling in the 51st minute, Anatoli Filov managed to get in a good position for a shot. EW® Leeds's supporters rose to their feet, but Anatoli Filov was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Julio Vera breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 60th match minute, Ecuador was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Juan Sebastián Puig to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Anatoli Filov in the 61st minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. EW® Leeds made a substitution. Stanislav Strinski replaced Pavlin Mogilanski. Agustín Saelices kicked well hit freekick during the 65th minute of the match. Julio Vera showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tervel Dushanov in the 66th minute of the match. EW® Leeds's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Kostadin Nenov in the 68th minute. After having played for 69 minutes, Slavi Dramov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. EW® Leeds's supporters crossed their fingers, but Slavi Dramov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. EW® Leeds's defense didn't have a chance, in the 70th minute, when Daniel Zorita scored to the left of an out of position Nikifor Ruzhekov, making the score, 0-1. Nikifor Ruzhekov made an important save on a dangerous shot by Cristian Sancho in the 80th minute. In the 82nd minute, Felix Montenegro hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 89th minute Tervel Dushanov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Julio Vera saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 90th minute EW® Leeds were awarded a corner. Kostadin Nenov went to the cornerflag to take it. A nice corner shot did that Kostadin Nenov got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Julio Vera quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Julio Vera showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Anatoli Filov, who was totally free with the ball in the 92nd minute. Julio Vera showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tervel Dushanov in the 93rd minute of the match. The EW® Leeds fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Ecuador were clearly better and deserved to take the win.