U21 World League

The Dribbel Arena
Spectators: 8147 (Terracing: 6111, Seating: 1874, VIP seats: 162) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Robbin De Ruyter kicked off to start the match. Carlos Platon sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After 6 played minutes Zero Gravity got a freekick which was hit by Qin Fei Chao. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Mikolaj Ratulowski in the 10th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Santo Shantala saved 1989 Blxsk from getting behind. 13 minutes into the game, Wen Xiang Mo was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. 1989 Blxsk's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Zero Gravity the free kick. The supporters of Zero Gravity booed when 1989 Blxsk was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 13 match minutes in a wonderful position. Wen Xiang Mo didn't get a good kick on the ball. Santo Shantala stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Filiberto Bernebe's shot from short distance in the 15th minute. Jorge Caetano made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jonathan Bartoli in the 16th minute of play. 21 minutes into the match, Zero Gravity's goal looked a bit too open when Jonathan Bartoli came free, but Jorge Caetano reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. With a little luck, 1989 Blxsk's Santo Shantala got control of the ball when Pablo Koffidis tried to sneak it across the goal line. Santo Shantala took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Robbin De Ruyter, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 34 played minutes 1989 Blxsk got a freekick which was hit by Rene Gaueko. Zero Gravity's Robbin De Ruyter got a good chance for a goal in the 35th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After a rather tough play, 1989 Blxsk's Ubaldo Raphael got a free kick in the 36th minute. Zero Gravity's Matías Roganov couldn't find anyone to pass the ball to, so he shot a long shot towards the goal in the 37th minute. The shot went wide which resulted in a goal kick for 1989 Blxsk. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jonathan Bartoli in the 39th minute of play forced Zero Gravity's goalkeeper Jorge Caetano to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Mario Tiniebra in the 44th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Jorge Caetano saved Zero Gravity from getting behind. 48 minutes into the match, Zero Gravity's Matías Roganov broke free and took a long shot that unfortunately flew wide. A fine initiative that could have resulted in a goal. The score stood at 0-0 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Mario Tiniebra to make the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Qin Fei Chao in the 54th minute of play forced 1989 Blxsk's goalkeeper Santo Shantala to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Jorge Caetano made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Mario Tiniebra in the 55th minute of play. 57 minutes had been played when some careless play by Zero Gravity's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Carlos Platon was slow to take the kick. During this time 1989 Blxsk's players had a chance to rest. A collision led to 1989 Blxsk getting a freekick after 57 minutes play. Bogdan Tylenda hit a great ball. Ubaldo Raphael charged in rather forcefully in the 58th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Ubaldo Raphael the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Santo Shantala took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Mikolaj Ratulowski, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Robbin De Ruyter in the 60th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Santo Shantala saved 1989 Blxsk from getting behind. After 67 played minutes Zero Gravity got a freekick which was hit by Pablo Koffidis. 1989 Blxsk made a substitution. Filiberto Manni replaced Edgar Davis. Zero Gravity's Wawrzyniec Iwanowski was substituted for Robbin De Ruyter. 1989 Blxsk's Osvaldo Bidun was substituted for Ciro Efren. After 77 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for 1989 Blxsk! In the 78th minute there was a penalty for Zero Gravity. Matías Roganov stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Santo Shantala. 1-1. Mikolaj Ratulowski might have been able to make a better finish in the 82nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Santo Shantala. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Mikolaj Ratulowski ran back to his position shaking his head. If Wawrzyniec Iwanowski had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 82nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. The Zero Gravity fans' excitement grew in the 82nd match minute when Zero Gravity's Mikolaj Ratulowski 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 2-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. Santo Shantala showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Mikolaj Ratulowski, who was totally free with the ball in the 89th minute. Wawrzyniec Iwanowski fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 96th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Santo Shantala having to interfere. For all the effort they put into the match, the 1989 Blxsk players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Zero Gravity.