Challenge

Ammoxwstos
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. In the 3rd minute Agustín Saelices shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Antonis Nikopolidis saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After taking down the ball on Ecuador's corner Daniel Zorita fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Antonis Nikopolidis quite easily take care of the ball. Primitivo Andino made in the 7th minute of the game a throw-in that took a bad bounce and was taken care of by Nea Salamis's Wawrzyniec Puchlik. Primitivo Andino got a throw-in 9 minutes in the game and the ball was received by Felix Montes. A throw-in in the 12th minute of the game was made by Primitivo Andino with Cristian Sancho as target, who quickly passed the ball forward. Antonis Nikopolidis took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cristian Sancho, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 14 played minutes Ruud Nistelrooy rounded Ecuador's defense and shot a beautiful shot into goal via left pole - 1-0. An unexpectedly hard shot by Luis Andino in the 20th minute of play forced Nea Salamis's goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 21st minute of the match Ecuador got a corner. Nea Salamis'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. Antonis Nikopolidis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daniel Zorita in the 24th minute of the match. 24 minutes into the game, Daniel Zorita cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 1-1. Antonis Nikopolidis was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. After a defensive mix-up in Nea Salamis's zone, Cristian Sancho stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Antonis Nikopolidis came out of the goal and Cristian Sancho tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Antonis Nikopolidis took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cristian Sancho, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 33 minutes, Ruud Nistelrooy mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Nea Salamis and the Ecuador players grew even worse after the yellow card. An unexpectedly hard shot by Cristian Sancho in the 37th minute of play forced Nea Salamis's goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 38 minutes Nea Salamis's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Daniel Zorita who took care of the corner kick. In the 41stth minute of the game Ruud Nistelrooy who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Ecuador's Julio Vera was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. The throw-in from Primitivo Andino in the 43rd minute of the game was unfortunally taken care of by Nea Salamis's Karl-Johan Fors. After the first half Ecuador were leading 1-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Pipo Inzaghi stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Daniel Zorita came free with the goalkeeper in the 54th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Antonis Nikopolidis could save by the left post. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Pipo Inzaghi in the 57th 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. Ruud Nistelrooy recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 68th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Antonis Nikopolidis made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cristian Sancho in the 78th minute of play. Julio Vera made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Luciano Gallet in the 84th minute of play. Everardo Abreu kicked well hit freekick during the 97th minute of the match. When the match was over Ecuador could go home with a victory in their luggage, having controlled the game far better than Nea Salamis throughout the match.