U23 World League

Stadium Zemantauskas
Spectators: 7856 (Terracing: 5893, Seating: 1807, VIP seats: 156) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Davi Mello kicked off to start the match. After a rather tough play, Santa Fe's Hélio Sousa got a free kick in the 3rd minute. 8 minutes into the match, Santa Fe's goal looked a bit too open when Alex Berger came free, but Shao Jing Yuan reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Shao Jing Yuan made a fantastic save in the 10th minute, when Valdir Ortiz sent off a good shot on target. After 15 minutes Santa Fe's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Miguel Negri who took care of the corner kick. After 18 minutes of play, Zemantauskas FC's Remo Varela made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Shao Jing Yuan was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 20th match minute, Zemantauskas FC was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Alex Berger to maneuver through the defense. Sílvio Penha showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Godofredo Rik, who was totally free with the ball in the 33rd minute. After some fancy dribbling in the 36th minute, Davi Mello managed to get in a good position for a shot. Zemantauskas FC's supporters rose to their feet, but Davi Mello was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Shao Jing Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. When Guillermo Bemabe fell near the penalty area in the 41st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Santa Fe's protests and gave Guillermo Bemabe a yellow card for diving instead. In the 41st match minute, Santa Fe was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Guillermo Bemabe to maneuver through the defense. Shao Jing Yuan showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Alex Berger in the 44th minute of the match. Af the end of the first half the score was 1-0. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Godofredo Rik to make the kick off. The audience thought a goal was coming when Godofredo Rik got free with Sílvio Penha in the 52nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. When Toro Murillo came up free with the goalie in the 53rd minute, the Santa Fe 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 Toro Murillo couldn't finish the play. Valdir Ortiz kicked well hit freekick during the 56th minute of the match. 66 minutes into the match, Zemantauskas FC's goalkeeper Sílvio Penha had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Venancio Bertol. Remo Varela fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 74th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Shao Jing Yuan having to interfere. Shao Jing Yuan made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Remo Varela in the 81st minute of play. 82 minutes had been played when some careless play by Santa Fe's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Miguel Negri was slow to take the kick. During this time Zemantauskas FC's players had a chance to rest. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Santa Fe's goalie and right to Alex Berger. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Santa Fe's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. A collision led to Zemantauskas FC getting a freekick after 88 minutes play. Alex Berger hit a great ball. The audience was convinced that Davi Mello's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Shao Jing Yuan was relentless in the 94th minute of the game. After a rather tough play, Zemantauskas FC's Valdir Ortiz got a free kick in the 94th minute. Sílvio Penha made an important save on a dangerous shot by Venancio Bertol in the 96th minute. The Zemantauskas FC support was delighted with a win in a match that could easily have ended differently.