Challenge

The Cave
Spectators: 40 (Terracing: 31, Seating: 9, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Axel Tasis started the match with the kick off. With an all-out effort, Hårdmen Slak's Benito Sanz threw himself towards the right post 5 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Bengt Termander, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. After 9 minutes of play, Costa Rica's Lautaro Puig made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Kent Kyrk was left in no man's land by his defense there! Benito Sanz took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Bengt Termander, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 14th minute, Martin Zachrisson left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Hårdmen Slak fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. Benito Sanz made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bengt Termander in the 17th minute of play. In the 18th match minute, Costa Rica was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Axel Tasis to maneuver through the defense. With a little luck, Costa Rica's Benito Sanz got control of the ball when Vidar Alegren tried to sneak it across the goal line. When Abel Carballo fell near the penalty area in the 22nd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Costa Rica's protests and gave Abel Carballo a yellow card for diving instead. After 22 played minutes Costa Rica got a freekick which was hit by Abel Carballo. 24 minutes into the match, Costa Rica's goalkeeper Benito Sanz had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by William Falk. Vidar Alegren who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 27thth minute tested the skills of Benito Sanz when he managed to save the team from getting behind. After a rather tough play, Hårdmen Slak's Patrick Norberg got a free kick in the 30th minute. When Abel Carballo was, once again, overly rough in his play he received his second yellow card and was ordered off the ground. 37 minutes had been played. After 38 played minutes Costa Rica got a freekick which was hit by Abel Carballo. If Vidar Alegren had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 41st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Bengt Termander in the 45th minute of play forced Costa Rica's goalkeeper Benito Sanz to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Bengt Termander to strike the kick off in the second half. 52 minutes into the match, Bengt Termander had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Benito Sanz. Costa Rica's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Bengt Termander was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. When Aaron Alcocer came up free with the goalie in the 56th minute, the Costa Rica 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 Aaron Alcocer couldn't finish the play. 58 minutes into the match, Vidar Alegren notched a goal, 3-1, to the right of Costa Rica's Benito Sanz. Benito Sanz was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. The supporters of Hårdmen Slak booed when Costa Rica was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 65 match minutes in a wonderful position. Aaron Alcocer didn't get a good kick on the ball. After a defensive mix-up in Costa Rica's zone, Vidar Alegren stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Benito Sanz came out of the goal and Vidar Alegren tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After some fancy dribbling in the 68th minute, Martin Zachrisson managed to get in a good position for a shot. Hårdmen Slak's supporters rose to their feet, but Martin Zachrisson was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Benito Sanz breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 71st minute Vidar Alegren shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Benito Sanz saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a little luck, Hårdmen Slak's Kent Kyrk got control of the ball when Lautaro Puig tried to sneak it across the goal line. After some fancy dribbling in the 76th minute, Lautaro Puig managed to get in a good position for a shot. Costa Rica's supporters rose to their feet, but Lautaro Puig was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Kent Kyrk breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Mei Sen Quan's late challenge caught a Costa Rica's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Mei Sen Quan helped the player get up and apologised. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Bengt Termander in the 82nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Benito Sanz saved Costa Rica from getting behind. Benito Sanz stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Vidar Alegren's shot from short distance in the 86th minute. After 91 minutes, Axel Tasis mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Costa Rica and the Hårdmen Slak players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 91 played minutes Costa Rica got a freekick which was hit by Axel Tasis. Benito Sanz showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bengt Termander in the 95th minute of the match. 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. Hårdmen Slak fully deserved thier win.