Challenge

Campo Manuel Marques
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) After 5 played minutes Seleção de Macau got a freekick which was hit by Elias Pais. After 10 minutes of play, Ecuador's Daniel Zorita made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. René Higuita was left in no man's land by his defense there! Daniel Zorita sent away a hard shot on goal in the 14th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 19th minute, David Modesto hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After having played for 19 minutes, Daniel Zorita managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Ecuador's supporters crossed their fingers, but Daniel Zorita was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from David Modesto, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. A collision led to Ecuador getting a freekick after 23 minutes play. Camilo Gisbert hit a great ball. Julio Vera showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Octávio Valentim in the 24th minute of the match. Daniel Zorita fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 31st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without René Higuita having to interfere. René Higuita made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cristian Sancho in the 35th minute of play. With an all-out effort, Seleção de Macau's Julio Vera threw himself towards the right post 36 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Santiago Sousa, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Santiago Sousa in the 36th minute of play. In the 38th minute, Daniel Zorita ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. René Higuita was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. The Seleção de Macau players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Ecuador were winning 0-2.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Daniel Zorita stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Luis Andino in the 53rd minute of play forced Seleção de Macau's goalkeeper René Higuita to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 54th minute, Mateus Carvalhal hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Agustín Saelices hit a great freekick 57 minutes into the match. If Agustín Saelices had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 63rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Thanks to some nice moves Cristian Sancho could shoot a difficult shot in the 65th minute, which René Higuita however easily saved by the left post. In the 67th minute Santiago Sousa 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. A nice corner shot did that Octávio Valentim got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Julio Vera quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. After some careless play in the Seleção de Macau defense, Felix Montenegro kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of René Higuita. The Seleção de Macau fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that René Higuita should have stopped the shot. In the 74th minute, Santiago Sousa hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 75 minutes into the match, Seleção de Macau's goal looked a bit too open when Luis Andino came free, but René Higuita reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 76th minute of the match Ecuador got a corner. Seleção de Macau's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Daniel Zorita ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Seleção de Macau's goalie and right to Felix Montes. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Seleção de Macau's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. If Cristian Sancho had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 83rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Daniel Zorita received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 87th minute. René Higuita tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Camilo Gisbert hit a great freekick 92 minutes into the match. 92 minutes into the match, Ecuador's goal looked a bit too open when Octávio Valentim came free, but Julio Vera reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Julio Vera showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Santiago Sousa, who was totally free with the ball in the 95th minute. Ecuador's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.