Challenge

Arena Palestra Ceará
Spectators: 41 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ's Örjan Björkdahl 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. Cassius Byrne scored 0-1 in the 5th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of John Osomo, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. John Osomo took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Monty Rogers, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 10th minute Örjan Björkdahl shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Marco Day saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. John Osomo made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Monty Rogers in the 13th minute of play. John Osomo didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Monty Rogers went, in the 18th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-2 was the resulting score. John Osomo showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Cassius Byrne in the 27th minute of the match. John Osomo took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Monty Rogers, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 31st match minute, PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Edgard Dubardo to maneuver through the defense. Marco Day made a fantastic save in the 33rd minute, when Ademar Rodrigues sent off a good shot on target. 34 minutes had been played when some careless play by USA's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Edgard Dubardo was slow to take the kick. During this time PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ's players had a chance to rest. The corner ended in Edgard Dubardo almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but USA's Marco Day did a great save. In the 37th minute, Ademar Rodrigues left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-2. USA's Marco Day played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Örjan Björkdahl in the 43rd minute of play. John Osomo stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Cassius Byrne's shot from short distance in the 45th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Örjan Björkdahl in the 47th minute of play forced USA's goalkeeper Marco Day to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 1-2 lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Cassius Byrne to make the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Monty Rogers in the 54th minute of play forced PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ's goalkeeper John Osomo to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. John Osomo showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Cassius Byrne, who was totally free with the ball in the 61st minute. Marco Day showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Örjan Björkdahl in the 64th minute of the match. Marco Day came out of the goal in the 66th minute to try and stop a shot by PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ's Örjan Björkdahl. But to his dismay, Örjan Björkdahl quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-2. USA made a substitution. Sam Campbell replaced Cassius Byrne. PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ made a substitution. Bruno do Vale replaced Clarence Seedorf. When Örjan Björkdahl came up free with the goalie in the 72nd minute, the PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ 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 Örjan Björkdahl couldn't finish the play. In the 74th minute the ball was on its way in behind USA's goalkeeper Marco Day, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. When Edgard Dubardo fell near the penalty area in the 78th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ's protests and gave Edgard Dubardo a yellow card for diving instead. USA made a substitution. Marco Baker replaced Edward Mcdonald. After 79 played minutes PALMEIRAS CE - DMZ got a freekick which was hit by Edgard Dubardo. Khalid Parry scored 2-3 in the 80th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of John Osomo, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After 84 minutes of play, USA's Marco Baker made it 2-4 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. John Osomo was left in no man's land by his defense there! When Sam Campbell came up free with the goalie in the 91st minute, the USA 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 Sam Campbell couldn't finish the play. USA's fans were overjoyed with their teams well-earned victory and stayed in the stadium long after the final whistle to celebrate the win.