Challenge

C.S. Comunale
Spectators: 50 (Terracing: 38, Seating: 11, VIP seats: 1) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Daniel Zorita started the match with the kick off. Arturo Di Matteo's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Julio Vera read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 5th minute of play. 8 minutes into the match, Calenzano's Arturo Di Matteo sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Julio Vera narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Donato Balestra showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Luis Andino in the 10th minute of the match. In the 11th minute Cristian Sancho shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Donato Balestra saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Calenzano's Donato Balestra played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Daniel Zorita in the 17th minute of play. 18 minutes into the game, Cristian Sancho cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 0-1. Donato Balestra was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Donato Balestra took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Luis Andino, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a little luck, Ecuador's Julio Vera got control of the ball when Arturo Di Matteo tried to sneak it across the goal line. Calenzano's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Fedele Alessandrini in the 24th minute. A nice corner shot did that Fedele Alessandrini got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Julio Vera quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. After 26 played minutes Calenzano got a freekick which was hit by Alessio Santini. 31 minutes had been played when some careless play by Ecuador's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Fedele Alessandrini was slow to take the kick. During this time Calenzano's players had a chance to rest. After 33 minutes Ecuador's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Fedele Alessandrini who took care of the corner kick. A nice corner shot did that Fedele Alessandrini got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Julio Vera quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Donato Balestra came out of the goal in the 35th minute to try and stop a shot by Ecuador's Luis Andino. But to his dismay, Luis Andino quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. After some fancy dribbling in the 38th minute, Arturo Di Matteo managed to get in a good position for a shot. Calenzano's supporters rose to their feet, but Arturo Di Matteo 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. When Arturo Di Matteo came up free with the goalie in the 46th minute, the Calenzano 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 Arturo Di Matteo couldn't finish the play. 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 players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Arturo Di Matteo was the one to do the kick off. Donato Balestra made a fantastic save in the 51st minute, when Daniel Zorita sent off a good shot on target. In the 54th minute, Arturo Di Matteo 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. Julio Vera took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Yaniusky Pardo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Calenzano made a substitution. Pierrot Leenpoels replaced Arturo Di Matteo. Calenzano's Alessandro Giocondo was substituted for Yaniusky Pardo. Primitivo Andino got a throw-in 63 minutes in the game and the ball was received by Felix Montenegro. In the 70th match minute, Calenzano was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Antonello Di Toma to maneuver through the defense. Calenzano's Ennio Daniele was substituted for Alessio Santini. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Pierrot Leenpoels in the 73rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Julio Vera prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Julio Vera didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Pierrot Leenpoels went, in the 74th minute, to the upper right corner, 1-3 was the resulting score. Calenzano's Donato Balestra played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cristian Sancho in the 78th minute of play. Luis Andino hit a great freekick 81 minutes into the match. In the 83rd minute, Daniel Zorita reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Donato Balestra. The goal made the score 1-4. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cristian Sancho in the 90th minute of play forced Calenzano's goalkeeper Donato Balestra to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 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.