U23 League

Gigante de Phoenix
Spectators: 159 (Terracing: 120, Seating: 36, VIP seats: 3) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Rudolf Pendleton started the match with the kick off. In the 5th minute, Mauro Incendio ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Bart Villanueva was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. With an all-out effort, El Canalla de Chicago's Amancio Artal threw himself towards the right post 11 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Rudolf Pendleton, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rudolf Pendleton in the 13th minute of play forced Titanes Mayas's goalkeeper Amancio Artal to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 15 minutes into the match, Titanes Mayas's goal looked a bit too open when Rudolf Pendleton came free, but Amancio Artal reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. With an all-out effort, El Canalla de Chicago's Amancio Artal threw himself towards the right post 18 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Rudolf Pendleton, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Bart Villanueva showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Amado Dei in the 21st minute of the match. Bart Villanueva showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mauro Incendio in the 29th minute of the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 31st minute, Rudolf Pendleton managed to get in a good position for a shot. El Canalla de Chicago's supporters rose to their feet, but Rudolf Pendleton was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Amancio Artal breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Rudolf Pendleton fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 34th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Amancio Artal having to interfere. After a rather tough play, El Canalla de Chicago's Tanner Booker got a free kick in the 35th minute. In the 36th minute, Lisandro Leoiar made a precise shot to the right of Bart Villanueva. El Canalla de Chicago's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 0-2. If Mauro Incendio had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 40th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 42nd minute Kong Shi Chao shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Bart Villanueva saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 43 minutes into the match, Titanes Mayas's goal looked a bit too open when Rudolf Pendleton came free, but Amancio Artal reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 43 minutes into the game, El Canalla de Chicago's Rudolf Pendleton nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Amancio Artal made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 1-2. El Canalla de Chicago's Rudolf Pendleton got a good chance for a goal in the 47th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After the first half Titanes Mayas were leading 1-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

The wind increased when Amado Dei made the kick off in the second half. Amancio Artal came out of the goal in the 53rd minute to try and stop a shot by El Canalla de Chicago's Rudolf Pendleton. But to his dismay, Rudolf Pendleton quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-2. After a rather tough play, El Canalla de Chicago's Brock Burke got a free kick in the 55th minute. 58 minutes into the game, Mauro Incendio recieved a splendid long ball, split the defenders, and gently placed the ball to the left of Bart Villanueva. Mauro Incendio showed that you don't have to tear a hole in the net to score, 2-3. El Canalla de Chicago's defense didn't have a chance, in the 62nd minute, when Mauro Incendio scored to the left of an out of position Bart Villanueva, making the score, 2-4. In the 67th minute Rudolf Pendleton shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Amancio Artal saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 69th minute, Kong Shi Chao reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Bart Villanueva. The goal made the score 2-5. Titanes Mayas's Amancio Artal played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rudolf Pendleton in the 79th minute of play. Lazaro Ragsdale fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 82nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Amancio Artal having to interfere. Bart Villanueva made an important save on a dangerous shot by Mauro Incendio in the 85th minute. In the 90th minute, one of El Canalla de Chicago:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for El Canalla de Chicago. The El Canalla de Chicago supporters were disappointed that their team didn't take anything from the match, despite matching Titanes Mayas's performance. The match ended with a win for Titanes Mayas.