U18 World League

Antonio V. Liberti
Spectators: 7679 (Terracing: 5760, Seating: 1766, VIP seats: 153) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Curro Huarte started the match with the kick off. When Raul Arce, who was free, got the in front of the goal in the 6 minute he wasn't focused and tipped the ball just over the goal. The Neron Gibert was delighted since the ball would have got in if it had gone under the crossbar. 7 minutes into the game, ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Raul Arce nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Neron Gibert made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-0. Prudencio Bilbo made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Curro Huarte in the 10th minute of play. When ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Raul Arce in the 13th minute got a chance for a shot 13th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye ALPUJARRAS LIBRE's goalie prevented a goal. Florencio Gaitano had several of the ALPUJARRAS LIBRE's defenders around him in the penalty area when he, after 14 minutes of play, received a pass and succeeded in some way to shoot a shot which went straight ahead into goal. This resulted in a 2-0 score and a disappointed Neron Gibert as he didn't even see the shot coming. Raul Arce scored 3-0 in the 17th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Neron Gibert, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. After 20 played minutes ALPUJARRAS LIBRE got a freekick which was hit by Iyan Sainz. After recieving a nice pass, ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Vinicio Frances tried to score from far away in the 21st minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. Ekialde Etxeberria charged in rather forcefully in the 22nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ekialde Etxeberria the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After 22 played minutes ALPUJARRAS LIBRE got a freekick which was hit by Ekialde Etxeberria. The audience thought a goal was coming when Vinicio Frances got free with Neron Gibert in the 23rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. When Raul Arce came up free with the goalie in the 34th minute, the ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ 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 Raul Arce couldn't finish the play. 40 minutes into the match, ALPUJARRAS LIBRE's goal looked a bit too open when Florencio Gaitano came free, but Neron Gibert reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 5-0 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Raul Arce to make the kick off. Neron Gibert showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Florencio Gaitano, who was totally free with the ball in the 58th minute. If Vinicio Frances had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 62nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Taio Bermejo during the 64th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In a very dangerous position, a player in ALPUJARRAS LIBRE fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 64th minute. Penalty! ALPUJARRAS LIBRE made a substitution. García Salgado replaced Arbidel Nadal. ALPUJARRAS LIBRE's Xosepe Morales was substituted for Bernard Jaen. After 72 minutes of play, ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Florencio Gaitano made it 7-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Neron Gibert was left in no man's land by his defense there! García Salgado might have been able to make a better finish in the 78th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Prudencio Bilbo. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. García Salgado ran back to his position shaking his head. Neron Gibert showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Florencio Gaitano in the 80th minute of the match. Vinicio Frances sent away a hard shot on goal in the 81st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. In the 83rd minute, Florencio Gaitano hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience thought a goal was coming when Curro Huarte got free with Prudencio Bilbo in the 87th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s Prudencio Bilbo proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 98th minute of the match, managed to save ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ from getting a goal against them. There was no doubt that ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡ were the better team. ≡≡ SOMOS ARGENTINA ≡≡'s players enjoyed the ovations of the crowd after the victory.