Challenge

NATIONAL ARENA
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Nelson Mendoza took the kick off in the first half of the match. João Massa made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Tomas Illescas in the 8th minute of play. In the 12th minute Nelson Mendoza shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jonathan Ferrant saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 16th minute, Xu Yue Yuan hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Xu Yue Yuan hit a great freekick 21 minutes into the match. If Tomas Illescas had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 23rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a rather tough play, UFC STEAUA's Kong Xiang Hao got a free kick in the 25th minute. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nelson Mendoza, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Patricio Costa struck a weak shot in the 31st minute. João Massa didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Venezuela. Nelson Mendoza received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 40th minute. Jonathan Ferrant tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. After 41 played minutes Venezuela got a freekick which was hit by Jose Correa. In the 44th match minute, UFC STEAUA was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Şamil Darcan to maneuver through the defense. Camilo Gaos hit a great freekick 45 minutes into the match. The score stood at 0-0 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

The wind increased when Tomas Illescas made the kick off in the second half. João Massa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Tomas Illescas, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee felt a red card was in order, 70 minutes into the game, when Rigoberto Mina put in a rough tackle. After 69 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Venezuela! Mugur Basarabescu scored 2-0 in the 71st match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Jonathan Ferrant, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. In the 74thth minute of the game Nelson Mendoza who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nelson Mendoza in the 78th minute of play forced Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 82nd minute of the match Venezuela got a corner. UFC STEAUA's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Tomas Illescas ran over to the corner to take the kick. Patricio Costa charged in rather forcefully in the 83rd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Patricio Costa the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A collision led to Venezuela getting a freekick after 83 minutes play. Patricio Costa hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nelson Mendoza in the 84th minute of play forced Venezuela's goalkeeper Jonathan Ferrant to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Gigel Seremet struck a weak shot in the 85th minute. Jonathan Ferrant didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for UFC STEAUA. Venezuela's Jonathan Ferrant played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Nelson Mendoza in the 88th minute of play. Jonathan Ferrant took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nelson Mendoza, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Nelson Mendoza in the 93rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Jonathan Ferrant saved Venezuela from getting behind. João Massa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Patricio Costa in the 94th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Patricio Costa in the 96th minute of play forced UFC STEAUA's goalkeeper João Massa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. UFC STEAUA fully deserved thier win.