Challenge

Arena Cruzeiro
Spectators: 42 (Terracing: 32, Seating: 10, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Cassius Byrne started the match with the kick off. In the 9th minute Edward Mcdonald shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Raphael Dantas saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s Raphael Dantas played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Monty Rogers in the 11th minute of play. Marco Day showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Tony Thanos in the 12th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Monty Rogers in the 16th minute of play forced Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s goalkeeper Raphael Dantas to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 21 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s goal looked a bit too open when Monty Rogers came free, but Raphael Dantas reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 21 minutes of play, USA's Monty Rogers made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Raphael Dantas was left in no man's land by his defense there! An unexpectedly hard shot by Simo Mihklisaar in the 24th minute of play forced USA's goalkeeper Marco Day to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The USA fans' excitement grew in the 26th match minute when USA's Monty Rogers looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. A collision led to Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- getting a freekick after 29 minutes play. Emiliano Toribio hit a great ball. 32 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s goal looked a bit too open when Cassius Byrne came free, but Raphael Dantas reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Zbigniew Zatorski came free with the goalkeeper in the 37th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Marco Day could save by the left post. 39 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s Simo Mihklisaar sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Marco Day narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Dobromir Malewicki hit a great freekick 39 minutes into the match. Raphael Dantas took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Monty Rogers, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Emiliano Toribio hit a great freekick 43 minutes into the match. The supporters of Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- booed when USA was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 45 match minutes in a wonderful position. Koby Fletcher didn't get a good kick on the ball. 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.

Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- made a substitution. Kristofer Peck replaced Simo Mihklisaar. The wind increased when Zbigniew Zatorski made the kick off in the second half. Raphael Dantas 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 53rd minute. Raphael Dantas showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Monty Rogers, who was totally free with the ball in the 55th minute. USA's Marco Day played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tony Thanos in the 56th minute of play. Raphael Dantas took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Monty Rogers, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Thanks to some nice moves Cassius Byrne could shoot a difficult shot in the 61st minute, which Raphael Dantas however easily saved by the left post. Raphael Dantas was a little too slow when Cassius Byrne got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 66th minute. The score was now 0-3. After 71 played minutes Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- got a freekick which was hit by Giovani Luz. USA's Sam Campbell was substituted for Cassius Byrne. After 72 played minutes Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- got a freekick which was hit by Giovani Luz. In the 72nd minute of the match Monty Rogers sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Raphael Dantas skillfully saved the ball. 74 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s goalkeeper Raphael Dantas had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Sam Campbell. In the 75th minute USA were awarded a corner. Monty Rogers went to the cornerflag to take it. 78 minutes into the match, USA's goal looked a bit too open when Tony Thanos came free, but Marco Day reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. USA's Marco Baker was substituted for Edward Mcdonald. 82 minutes into the match, Zbigniew Zatorski had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Marco Day. USA's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Zbigniew Zatorski was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-3. In the 86th minute, Khalid Parry made a precise shot to the right of Raphael Dantas. Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ-'s defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-4. USA's Marco Day played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tony Thanos in the 91st minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Zbigniew Zatorski in the 92nd minute of play forced USA's goalkeeper Marco Day to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Marco Day took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Zbigniew Zatorski, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Tony Thanos's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Marco Day was relentless in the 96th minute of the game. USA played a much better game than Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- and deserved their victory. The Cruzeiro MZC -DMZ- players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.