U18 League

Emirates Stadium
Spectators: 175 (Terracing: 132, Seating: 40, VIP seats: 3) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Philipp Junod got the match started through his kick off. Andre Zurbuchen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Gavril Karandzhulov in the 3rd minute of the match. The supporters of Lokomotiv Plovdiv booed when Espen Steelers was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 9 match minutes in a wonderful position. Hans Pasquino didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 10 played minutes, Lokomotiv Plovdiv's Lyudmil Karadashki shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Andre Zurbuchen came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Lokomotiv Plovdiv reached it. In the 11th minute Apostol Gilev shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Andre Zurbuchen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Hans Pasquino during the 15th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Hans Pasquino hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. Andre Zurbuchen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ivan Ganchev in the 17th minute of the match. Andre Zurbuchen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ivan Ganchev, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Andre Zurbuchen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ivan Ganchev in the 18th minute of the match. 22 minutes into the game, Lyudmil Karadashki was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Lokomotiv Plovdiv's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Espen Steelers the free kick. The supporters of Espen Steelers booed when Lokomotiv Plovdiv was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 22 match minutes in a wonderful position. Lyudmil Karadashki didn't get a good kick on the ball. Andre Zurbuchen made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Gavril Karandzhulov in the 25th minute of play. Andre Zurbuchen didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Apostol Gilev went, in the 27th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. 38 minutes into the match, Espen Steelers's goal looked a bit too open when Gavril Karandzhulov came free, but Andre Zurbuchen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Espen Steelers's Marco Léveillé was substituted for Hans Pasquino. Lyudmil Karadashki made a great header on Lokomotiv Plovdiv's corner, it was just that Espen Steelers's Andre Zurbuchen managed to reach the ball for a save. The crowd rose to their feet as Freeman Mächler kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Evlogi Lukanov. That made the score 1-1 in the 45 minute of play. The first half was very even, with the score at 1-1 when the whistle went for half-time. The players welcomed the break and quickly retired to the dressing rooms.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Ivan Ganchev made a kick off. 51 minutes into the match, Espen Steelers's goalkeeper Andre Zurbuchen had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Bocho Nikolchev. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gavril Karandzhulov in the 60th minute of play forced Espen Steelers's goalkeeper Andre Zurbuchen to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. A collision led to Espen Steelers getting a freekick after 61 minutes play. Karl von Planta hit a great ball. Espen Steelers made a substitution. Gavin Ciprella replaced Enrico Schlüssel. After a rather tough play, Espen Steelers's Karl von Planta got a free kick in the 62nd minute. Ivan Ganchev struck a weak shot in the 63rd minute. Andre Zurbuchen didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Lokomotiv Plovdiv. 64 minutes into the game, Karl von Planta was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Espen Steelers's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Lokomotiv Plovdiv the free kick. 66 minutes into the game, Marco Léveillé was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Espen Steelers's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Lokomotiv Plovdiv the free kick. In the 66th minute, Marco Léveillé hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Evlogi Lukanov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Harrison Muntwyler in the 69th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Kenan Vinciguerra in the 70th minute of play forced Lokomotiv Plovdiv's goalkeeper Evlogi Lukanov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 70th match minute, Lokomotiv Plovdiv was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Tencho Kerezov to maneuver through the defense. Freeman Mächler scored 2-1 in the 71st match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Evlogi Lukanov, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Evlogi Lukanov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Harrison Muntwyler in the 74th minute of the match. With a little luck, Espen Steelers's Andre Zurbuchen got control of the ball when Ivan Ganchev tried to sneak it across the goal line. Andre Zurbuchen showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ivan Ganchev, who was totally free with the ball in the 82nd minute. Evlogi Lukanov showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Geordi Gerig, who was totally free with the ball in the 89th minute. Lokomotiv Plovdiv's Evlogi Lukanov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Freeman Mächler in the 92nd minute of play. Gavril Karandzhulov blasted a shot towards the goal in the 94th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Andre Zurbuchen having to make a save. Lokomotiv Plovdiv's players left the field with heads hung low after losing a match that had been finely balanced throughout.