League

Shady Spring
Spectators: 8079 (Terracing: 6061, Seating: 1858, VIP seats: 160) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Sanford Egan started the match with the kick off. In the 4th match minute, Itta Bena was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Raymond Winston to maneuver through the defense. In the 8th minute Sanford Egan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Alonso Pacheco saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Alonso Pacheco took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lenny Cortez, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Alonso Pacheco made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sanford Egan in the 13th minute of play. Sanford Egan sent away a hard shot on goal in the 18th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 20 minutes into the match, Itta Bena's goal looked a bit too open when Reggie Braden came free, but Joshua Ashby reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Sanford Egan sent away a hard shot on goal in the 25th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Sanford Egan came up free with the goalie in the 26th minute, the Itta Bena 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 Sanford Egan couldn't finish the play. Armen Mkhitaryan kicked well hit freekick during the 39th minute of the match. Loren Chacon took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 40th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Alonso Pacheco. Shady Spring FC's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sanford Egan in the 41st minute of play forced Shady Spring FC's goalkeeper Alonso Pacheco to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 43 minutes had been played when some careless play by Shady Spring FC's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Loren Chacon was slow to take the kick. During this time Itta Bena's players had a chance to rest. A well-hit corner resulted in Simon Vaughn heading the ball towards the goal, but to his dismay he misdirected it and missed the goal completely. In the 45th minute, Lenny Cortez ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Alonso Pacheco was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. The Shady Spring FC players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. Itta Bena were winning 0-2.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Rodrigo Reed made a kick off. In the 51st minute, one of Itta Bena:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Itta Bena. A collision led to Shady Spring FC getting a freekick after 66 minutes play. Hugo Buchanan hit a great ball. Joshua Ashby took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rodrigo Reed, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 70th minute, Reggie Braden ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Joshua Ashby was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-2. Raymond Winston made in the 73rd minute of the game a quick throw-in and Raymond Winston immediately put the ball in play. The supporters of Shady Spring FC booed when Itta Bena was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 78 match minutes in a wonderful position. Lenny Cortez didn't get a good kick on the ball. 83 minutes into the game, Simon Vaughn was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Itta Bena's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Shady Spring FC the free kick. Joshua Ashby showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Reggie Braden, who was totally free with the ball in the 94th minute. Itta Bena's Joe Hawk managed, thanks to a brazen rush, stole the ball on a throw-in made by Ivan Dias in the 97 minute of the game. Sanford Egan received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 98th minute. Alonso Pacheco tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The final whistle blew with the score still tied, and both teams left the pitch thinking about the missed chances that could have given their team the win.