World League

Estadio Tabossi
Spectators: 7516 (Terracing: 5638, Seating: 1728, VIP seats: 150) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Tadeo Eneas got the match started through his kick off. The Arsenal F.C. fans' excitement grew in the 3rd match minute when Arsenal F.C.'s Afanasiy Shefner looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 0-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Nery Pumpido took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Daniil Fomin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gică Busuioc in the 8th minute of play forced Tabossi's goalkeeper Nery Pumpido to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Arsenal F.C.'s Leonardo Da Vinci proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 10th minute of the match, managed to save Arsenal F.C. from getting a goal against them. In the 13th minute, Gică Busuioc ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Nery Pumpido was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-2. In the 21st minute, Tadeo Eneas hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Nery Pumpido showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Gică Busuioc, who was totally free with the ball in the 22nd minute. 25 minutes into the match, Afanasiy Shefner had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Nery Pumpido. Tabossi's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Afanasiy Shefner was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. 30 minutes into the match, Tabossi's goal looked a bit too open when Afanasiy Shefner came free, but Nery Pumpido reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ernesto Nalo's late challenge caught a Arsenal F.C.'s player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Ernesto Nalo helped the player get up and apologised. In the 36th match minute, Tabossi was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ernesto Nalo to maneuver through the defense. After 38 played minutes Nigel Ingham shot from long distance. At first the shot seemed to be simple for Tabossi's Nery Pumpido to catch but Nigel Ingham was lucky. It became 0-4 after the goalkeeper had been careless and dropped the ball into goal. Nery Pumpido didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Gică Busuioc went, in the 42nd minute, to the upper right corner, 0-5 was the resulting score. A collision led to Arsenal F.C. getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Nigel Ingham hit a great ball. Angelino Pudes was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 47 minutes into the match. After the first half Arsenal F.C. were leading 0-6. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

Semen Afonchenko received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 56th minute. Nery Pumpido tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Tabossi's Nery Pumpido played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Afanasiy Shefner in the 59th minute of play. In the 59th match minute, Tabossi was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Albino Sabin to maneuver through the defense. After 60 played minutes Tabossi got a freekick which was hit by Benedicto Lauro. An unexpectedly hard shot by Semen Afonchenko in the 61st minute of play forced Tabossi's goalkeeper Nery Pumpido to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When the match had gone on for 64 minutes, Afanasiy Shefner took a quick shot and it went in 0-7 without a chance for Nery Pumpido to make any attempt to save it. Nery Pumpido made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Daniil Fomin in the 69th minute of play. Nery Pumpido showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Afanasiy Shefner, who was totally free with the ball in the 70th minute. Nery Pumpido made an important save on a dangerous shot by Gică Busuioc in the 71st minute. In the 73rd minute of the match, Afanasiy Shefner got a very nice opportunity to score, but Nery Pumpido was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. Tadeo Eneas kicked well hit freekick during the 74th minute of the match. Tabossi's Rolando Botello was substituted for Tadeo Eneas. Tadeo Eneas hit a great freekick 76 minutes into the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 80th minute, Gică Busuioc managed to get in a good position for a shot. Arsenal F.C.'s supporters rose to their feet, but Gică Busuioc was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nery Pumpido breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. 83 minutes had been played when some careless play by Tabossi's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Semen Afonchenko was slow to take the kick. During this time Arsenal F.C.'s players had a chance to rest. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Tabossi's goalie and right to Afanasiy Shefner. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Tabossi's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Daniil Fomin got free with Nery Pumpido in the 88th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Nery Pumpido made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gică Busuioc in the 95th minute of play. If Afanasiy Shefner had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 96th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After having played for 97 minutes, Anton Kirilchenko managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Arsenal F.C.'s supporters crossed their fingers, but Anton Kirilchenko was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. After 99 played minutes Arsenal F.C. got a freekick which was hit by Gică Busuioc. Arsenal F.C.'s players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.