World League

El Monumental
Spectators: 7596 (Terracing: 5698, Seating: 1747, VIP seats: 151) In the 3rd minute the ball was on its way in behind Stal Sanok's goalkeeper Sune Rudberg, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. In the 5th minute of the match RIVER got a corner. Stal Sanok's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Giovanni Lenhardt ran over to the corner to take the kick. The crowd rose to their feet as RIVER's Eric Târban slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Sune Rudberg. That made the score 1-0 after 7 minutes of play. In the 12th minute, Cihat Cevval left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Stal Sanok fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 1-1. 17 minutes into the match, Stal Sanok's goal looked a bit too open when Niki Lauda came free, but Sune Rudberg reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, RIVER's Marco Rudolfo got a free kick in the 17th minute. Marcial Lordi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ari Hakanpää in the 22nd minute of the match. RIVER's Marcial Lordi played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ari Hakanpää in the 24th minute of play. In the 30th match minute, RIVER was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Eric Târban to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Boleslaw Dres in the 32nd minute of play forced RIVER's goalkeeper Marcial Lordi to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, Stal Sanok's Ari Hakanpää got a free kick in the 36th minute. Sune Rudberg came out of the goal in the 38th minute to try and stop a shot by RIVER's Eric Târban. But to his dismay, Eric Târban quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1. Sune Rudberg made a fantastic save in the 41st minute, when Eric Târban sent off a good shot on target. Eric Târban blasted a shot towards the goal in the 43rd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Sune Rudberg having to make a save. Thanks to some nice moves Eric Târban could shoot a difficult shot in the 43rd minute, which Sune Rudberg however easily saved by the left post. RIVER made a substitution. Tobias Belmiro replaced Bruno Oxarra. Lin Ang shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Cihat Cevval to make the kick off. Stal Sanok were awarded a corner in the 54th minute after RIVER's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Lin Ang took the corner. A nice corner shot did that Lin Ang got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Marcial Lordi quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. 70 minutes into the match, RIVER's goal looked a bit too open when Cui Liang Xiong came free, but Marcial Lordi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Marcial Lordi took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Cui Liang Xiong, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. RIVER made a substitution. Pipo Benedetto replaced Eric Târban. Marcial Lordi made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ari Hakanpää in the 81st minute of play. 87 minutes had been played when some careless play by RIVER's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Lin Ang was slow to take the kick. During this time Stal Sanok's players had a chance to rest. Stal Sanok's Lin Ang was first on the ball when the corner was shot and he dangerously headed the ball towards goal, but Marcial Lordi in the goal jumped up to prevent it from getting in. 88 minutes into the match, RIVER's goal looked a bit too open when Cui Liang Xiong came free, but Marcial Lordi reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Marco Rudolfo hit a great freekick 92 minutes into the match. When Tobias Esparza fell near the penalty area in the 95th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored RIVER's protests and gave Tobias Esparza a yellow card for diving instead. RIVER were really happy, having secured the victory after a very even contest. They thanked the players of Stal Sanok for a fine match.