U18 World League

Blue Arena
Spectators: 8598 (Terracing: 6450, Seating: 1977, VIP seats: 171) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Antony Cuddihy started the match with the kick off. After some fancy dribbling in the 4th minute, Olliver Todman managed to get in a good position for a shot. Australian Youth Academy's supporters rose to their feet, but Olliver Todman was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Șerban Moșanu breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Ryan Millard kicked well hit freekick during the 6th minute of the match. Marcu Hagi took the ball and in the 7 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Ollie Flesfadar. Ollie Flesfadar dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-0. A collision led to BlueLionesse getting a freekick after 11 minutes play. Petrică Pârcălab hit a great ball. Ollie Flesfadar showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Marcu Hagi, who was totally free with the ball in the 16th minute. BlueLionesse's Șerban Moșanu played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dakota Gaffigan in the 17th minute of play. Ollie Flesfadar came out of the goal in the 18th minute to try and stop a shot by BlueLionesse's Mihnea Martinaș. But to his dismay, Mihnea Martinaș quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-0. After a rather tough play, BlueLionesse's Mircea Stejaru got a free kick in the 20th minute. 24 minutes into the game, Bradley Obree was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Australian Youth Academy's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave BlueLionesse the free kick. After 24 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Australian Youth Academy! When the match had been going on for 26 minutes, BlueLionesse's Marcu Hagi got an opportunity to shoot a penalty. He stayed cool and waited for the goalkeeper to move, before he confidently shot the ball into the goal, to the left of Ollie Flesfadar. Antony Cuddihy received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 34th minute. Șerban Moșanu tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Șerban Moșanu showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Dakota Gaffigan in the 36th minute of the match. Australian Youth Academy's Ollie Flesfadar played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Marcu Hagi in the 41st minute of play. In the 45th match minute, BlueLionesse was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Valeriu Iuzbașa to maneuver through the defense. Dakota Gaffigan fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 46th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Șerban Moșanu having to interfere. In the 47th minute Dakota Gaffigan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Șerban Moșanu saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The away team players looked dejected as the walked off the pitch at half time. They had fought hard, but were still losing 3-0.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Marcu Hagi stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. Marcu Hagi received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 51st minute. Ollie Flesfadar tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Bradley Obree was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 65 minutes into the match. In the 65th minute, one of Australian Youth Academy: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 Australian Youth Academy. In the 66th minute there was a penalty for BlueLionesse. Marcu Hagi stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Ollie Flesfadar. 4-0. Ollie Flesfadar took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mihnea Martinaș, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ollie Flesfadar showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Rareș Pușcașu, who was totally free with the ball in the 71st minute. The supporters of BlueLionesse booed when Australian Youth Academy was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 76 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ryan Millard didn't get a good kick on the ball. Ollie Flesfadar made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marcu Hagi in the 81st minute of play. The corner led BlueLionesse's Valeriu Iuzbașa to fire away a dangerous shot which Ollie Flesfadar despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. When Ryan Millard fell near the penalty area in the 83rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Australian Youth Academy's protests and gave Ryan Millard a yellow card for diving instead. In the 83rd match minute, Australian Youth Academy was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ryan Millard to maneuver through the defense. Dani Odd's late challenge caught a BlueLionesse's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Dani Odd helped the player get up and apologised. After 88 played minutes Australian Youth Academy got a freekick which was hit by Dani Odd. After some careless play in the Australian Youth Academy defense, Marcu Hagi kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Ollie Flesfadar. The Australian Youth Academy fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Ollie Flesfadar should have stopped the shot. In the 94th minute, Marcu Hagi hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. BlueLionesse's fans were exulted and cheered after their team won in a match that could easily have gone the other way.