U23 World League

Purple Arena
Spectators: 8052 (Terracing: 6040, Seating: 1852, VIP seats: 160) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Ricky Waegemans got the match started through his kick off. In the 5th minute, Sonny Sigman hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 8 played minutes Purple Talents got a freekick which was hit by Trent Gentenaar. When the match had gone on for 12 minutes, Qiu Feng Guo put it in 1-0 from a short distance just to the right of Magnus Hägglund. After some careless play in the Tough and Tasty FC defense, Ricky Waegemans kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Magnus Hägglund. The Tough and Tasty FC fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Magnus Hägglund should have stopped the shot. Purple Talents's Steve Van der Veeken played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sonny Sigman in the 21st minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sonny Sigman in the 25th minute of play forced Purple Talents's goalkeeper Steve Van der Veeken to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a little luck, Tough and Tasty FC's Magnus Hägglund got control of the ball when Qiu Feng Guo tried to sneak it across the goal line. Magnus Hägglund made an important save on a dangerous shot by Qiu Feng Guo in the 28th minute. Steve McManaman hit a great freekick 30 minutes into the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Sonny Sigman in the 32nd minute of play forced Purple Talents's goalkeeper Steve Van der Veeken to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 32nd minute, Sonny Sigman made a precise shot to the right of Steve Van der Veeken. Purple Talents's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 2-1. Magnus Hägglund stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Qiu Feng Guo's shot from short distance in the 38th minute. 41 minutes into the match, Purple Talents's goal looked a bit too open when Joachim Bergström came free, but Steve Van der Veeken reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 45th minute Sonny Sigman shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Steve Van der Veeken saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 2-1 at half-time.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Stefan Hultman to make the kick off. 51 minutes into the match, Purple Talents's goal looked a bit too open when Stefan Hultman came free, but Steve Van der Veeken reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Qiu Feng Guo in the 54th minute of play forced Tough and Tasty FC's goalkeeper Magnus Hägglund to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 55 played minutes Purple Talents got a freekick which was hit by Hever Plasencia. A collision led to Purple Talents getting a freekick after 56 minutes play. Hever Plasencia hit a great ball. Sonny Sigman came free with the goalkeeper in the 58th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Steve Van der Veeken could save by the left post. Steve Van der Veeken was in the perfect position, and the defense had done a good job marking him, but Sonny Sigman showcased his skills and made a perfect shot to score 2-2 in the 62 minute of play. In the 64th minute, Evert Ros hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Steve McManaman's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Steve Van der Veeken firmly grabbed it by the left post. Purple Talents's Steve Van der Veeken played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sonny Sigman in the 69th minute of play. A collision led to Tough and Tasty FC getting a freekick after 70 minutes play. Yao Ying Chen hit a great ball. Evert Ros got a throw-in 72 minutes in the game and the ball was received by Åke Svanberg. Steve Van der Veeken made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Stefan Hultman in the 73rd minute of play. Purple Talents's defense didn't have a chance, in the 77th minute, when Sonny Sigman scored to the left of an out of position Steve Van der Veeken, making the score, 2-3. 80 minutes into the game, Evert Ros threw the ball into play from the sideline. Purple Talents's Hever Plasencia quickly snatched the ball and retained possesion. Through an outstanding action, after 81 minutes, Steve Van der Veeken successfully got his hands on the ball before it slid into the goal at the right post. Magnus Hägglund made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Reemy Godefroid in the 83rd minute of play. After 88 minutes, Evert Ros mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Tough and Tasty FC and the Purple Talents players grew even worse after the yellow card. Evert Ros kicked well hit freekick during the 88th minute of the match. Magnus Hägglund showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Qiu Feng Guo in the 89th minute of the match. After 91 played minutes Purple Talents got a freekick which was hit by Trent Gentenaar. Steve Van der Veeken was a little too slow when Stefan Hultman got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 93rd minute. The score was now 2-4. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Tough and Tasty FC had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.