U21 World League

Råsundas Minne
Spectators: 7968 (Terracing: 5977, Seating: 1833, VIP seats: 158) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Mário Kempes got the match started through his kick off. After a rather tough play, Bahrtys Talanger's Karl-Magnus Boman got a free kick in the 6th minute. 9 minutes had been played when some careless play by Bahrtys Talanger's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Florentin Gougeon was slow to take the kick. During this time Valencia C.F.'s players had a chance to rest. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Bahrtys Talanger's goalie and right to Fran Pérez. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Bahrtys Talanger's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. Gert Blomqvist took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Florentin Gougeon, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The supporters of Valencia C.F. booed when Bahrtys Talanger was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 14 match minutes in a wonderful position. Nils-Erik Vik didn't get a good kick on the ball. Bahrtys Talanger's Gert Blomqvist played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Mário Kempes in the 15th minute of play. Gert Blomqvist came out of the goal in the 16th minute to try and stop a shot by Valencia C.F.'s Florentin Gougeon. But to his dismay, Florentin Gougeon quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-2. After 30 minutes of play, Valencia C.F.'s Florentin Gougeon made it 0-4 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Gert Blomqvist was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 36th minute, Dan Pålsson hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Florentin Gougeon in the 43rd minute of play forced Bahrtys Talanger's goalkeeper Gert Blomqvist to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 45th minute Mário Kempes shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gert Blomqvist saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Gert Blomqvist took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Florentin Gougeon, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Nils-Erik Vik to make the kick off. With a little luck, Bahrtys Talanger's Gert Blomqvist got control of the ball when Mário Kempes tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 54th minute Florentin Gougeon shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gert Blomqvist saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Florentin Gougeon in the 63rd minute of play forced Bahrtys Talanger's goalkeeper Gert Blomqvist to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 64th minute, Florentin Gougeon left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Valencia C.F. fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-5. Andoni Zubizarreta showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nils-Erik Vik in the 71st minute of the match. Mário Kempes might have been able to make a better finish in the 72nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Gert Blomqvist. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Mário Kempes ran back to his position shaking his head. When the match had gone on for 74 minutes, Florentin Gougeon took a quick shot and it went in 0-6 without a chance for Gert Blomqvist to make any attempt to save it. 78 minutes into the game, Florentin Gougeon recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Gert Blomqvist. Florentin Gougeon showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 0-7. Gert Blomqvist showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Florentin Gougeon, who was totally free with the ball in the 81st minute. The crowd rose to their feet as Valencia C.F.'s Mário Kempes slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Gert Blomqvist. That made the score 0-8 after 85 minutes of play. 90 minutes into the match, Bahrtys Talanger's goal looked a bit too open when Florentin Gougeon came free, but Gert Blomqvist reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Valencia C.F. eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.