Challenge

Estadio Azteca
Spectators: 45 (Terracing: 35, 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. An unexpectedly hard shot by Håkan Kjellman in the 2nd minute of play forced Mexico's goalkeeper Dante Lacasa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Zafer Hürsel took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Joel Gaona, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 4 minutes into the match, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's goalkeeper Zafer Hürsel had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Luca Zorita. After having played for 7 minutes, Luca Zorita managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Mexico's supporters crossed their fingers, but Luca Zorita was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. In the 10th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Zafer Hürsel saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Zafer Hürsel made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Joel Gaona in the 20th minute of play. In the 22nd match minute, Mexico was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Luca Rouco to maneuver through the defense. After 23 minutes of play, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's Emanuel Emander made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Dante Lacasa was left in no man's land by his defense there! After having played for 30 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. Luca Zorita could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 32nd minute of the match, but Zafer Hürsel made a huge save. In the 38th minute Joel Gaona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Zafer Hürsel saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 41st minute, Håkan Kjellman made a precise shot to the right of Dante Lacasa. Mexico's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. After 45 minutes, Johannes Botvidsson mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and the Mexico players grew even worse after the yellow card. Mexico's Joel Gaona shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 46th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Zafer Hürsel but with some difficulty. After some fancy dribbling in the 48th minute, Lautaro Mancebo managed to get in a good position for a shot. Mexico's supporters rose to their feet, but Lautaro Mancebo was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Zafer Hürsel breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-2 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Håkan Kjellman to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Joel Gaona made a precise shot to the right of Zafer Hürsel. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-2. The audience thought a goal was coming when Håkan Kjellman got free with Dante Lacasa in the 58th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 59th match minute, Mexico was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Felix Luque to maneuver through the defense. In the 62nd minute of the match FC Zenit Saint Petersburg got a corner. Mexico's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Johannes Botvidsson ran over to the corner to take the kick. A nice corner shot did that Johannes Botvidsson got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Dante Lacasa quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Zafer Hürsel made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lautaro Mancebo in the 64th minute of play. Zafer Hürsel made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Joel Gaona in the 74th minute of play. Zafer Hürsel showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Joel Gaona, who was totally free with the ball in the 74th minute. In the 83rd minute, Lautaro Mancebo 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. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's Valentin Ivarsson was substituted for Emanuel Emander. In the 86th minute of the match Mexico got a corner. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Joel Gaona ran over to the corner to take the kick. Dante Lacasa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Valentin Ivarsson in the 87th minute of play. Dante Lacasa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Valentin Ivarsson, who was totally free with the ball in the 87th minute. After 90 minutes of play FC Zenit Saint Petersburg's Johannes Botvidsson was too eager in his attempt to stop his opponent and brought him down. With that he got his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. Johannes Botvidsson kicked well hit freekick during the 91st minute of the match. A collision led to Mexico getting a freekick after 96 minutes play. Luca Zorita hit a great ball. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched FC Zenit Saint Petersburg eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.