Challenge

Angel Tulio Zof
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Ecuador's Daniel Zorita started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. An unexpectedly hard shot by Daniel Zorita in the 4th minute of play forced Central's goalkeeper Salih Orus to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Giovani Lo Celso got free with Julio Vera in the 5th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Central's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Eugenio Vermudo in the 7th minute. In the 9th match minute, Central was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Cipriano Rolado to maneuver through the defense. Salih Orus made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Luis Andino in the 10th minute of play. In the 13th minute, Luisito Quintan fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Julio Vera, passed just outside the right post. Eugenio Vermudo's late challenge caught a Ecuador's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Eugenio Vermudo helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Central's Eugenio Vermudo got a free kick in the 17th minute. 18 minutes into the game, Ecuador's Daniel Zorita nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Salih Orus made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. Giovani Lo Celso's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 22ndth minute, Julio Vera skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Giovani Lo Celso sent away a hard shot on goal in the 28th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. A collision led to Central getting a freekick after 31 minutes play. Arnoldo Bermund hit a great ball. If Giovani Lo Celso had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 36th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Cipriano Rolado hit a great freekick 41 minutes into the match. Salih Orus made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daniel Zorita in the 43rd minute of play. After 44 played minutes Central got a freekick which was hit by Luisito Quintan. An unexpectedly hard shot by Giovani Lo Celso in the 45th minute of play forced Ecuador's goalkeeper Julio Vera to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Luisito Quintan fell near the penalty area in the 48th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Central's protests and gave Luisito Quintan a yellow card for diving instead. In the 48th minute, Luisito Quintan hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Giovani Lo Celso made a kick off. A collision led to Ecuador getting a freekick after 52 minutes play. Antonio Arias hit a great ball. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Giovani Lo Celso, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 54th match minute, Ecuador was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Felix Montes to maneuver through the defense. Ecuador's Julio Vera played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Eugenio Vermudo in the 55th minute of play. In the 57th match minute, Ecuador was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Primitivo Andino to maneuver through the defense. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Giovani Lo Celso in the 58th minute of play. In the 64th match minute, Ecuador was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Daniel Zorita to maneuver through the defense. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Giovani Lo Celso in the 65th minute of play. In the 67th minute of the match, Cristian Sancho got a very nice opportunity to score, but Salih Orus was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. After 69 played minutes Central got a freekick which was hit by Giovani Lo Celso. When Giovani Lo Celso came up free with the goalie in the 81st minute, the Central 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 Giovani Lo Celso couldn't finish the play. Salih Orus made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cristian Sancho in the 86th minute of play. In the 90th minute, Cristian Sancho 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. In the 91st minute of the match, Daniel Zorita got a very nice opportunity to score, but Salih Orus was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Gelu Nicolau hit a great freekick 95 minutes into the match. Cristian Sancho's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 96thth minute, Salih Orus skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. The final whistle blew with the score still tied, and both teams left the pitch thinking about the missed chances that could have given their team the win.