U23 League

Mikheil Meskhi
Spectators: 154 (Terracing: 116, Seating: 35, VIP seats: 3) Martien Degenkamp started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Gerard Mulder received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 8th minute. Silverio Mendez tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Martien Degenkamp in the 10th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Silverio Mendez saved Pura Vida Academy from getting behind. Qian Wen Ran hit a great freekick 11 minutes into the match. Tico Lizano recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 13th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Carsten Maurits took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Jordão Barbosa, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Tico Lizano's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Carsten Maurits read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 31st minute of play. Tico Lizano made a well adjusted shot against goal in the 46thth minute coming free in front of the goal, but Carsten Maurits would not let the ball come through at any expense and made a nice save by the left post. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 1-0.

In the 51st minute, Jordão Barbosa ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Carsten Maurits was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-0. A collision led to Pura Vida Academy getting a freekick after 54 minutes play. Anzor Tsinamdzghvrishvili hit a great ball. After 56 played minutes Pura Vida Academy got a freekick which was hit by Levent User. When Pura Vida Academy's Tico Lizano in the 59th minute got a chance for a shot 59th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye FC Bal op het Dak's goalie prevented a goal. Silverio Mendez showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Martien Degenkamp in the 61st minute of the match. 64 minutes into the match, Pura Vida Academy's Levent User sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Carsten Maurits narrowly saved just below the crossbar. 65 minutes into the match, FC Bal op het Dak's goal looked a bit too open when Tico Lizano came free, but Carsten Maurits reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Tico Lizano came up free with the goalie in the 68th minute, the Pura Vida Academy 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 Tico Lizano couldn't finish the play. After some careless play in the Pura Vida Academy defense, Martien Degenkamp kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Silverio Mendez. The Pura Vida Academy fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Silverio Mendez should have stopped the shot. 80 minutes had been played when some careless play by FC Bal op het Dak's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Harry Nykvist was slow to take the kick. During this time Pura Vida Academy's players had a chance to rest. The corner ended in Harry Nykvist almost managing to get the ball behind the net, but FC Bal op het Dak's Carsten Maurits did a great save. Martien Degenkamp hit a great freekick 82 minutes into the match. In the 90th minute, Geert Arend van Zijl left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The FC Bal op het Dak fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-2. Carsten Maurits stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Antoni Wieser's shot from short distance in the 93rd minute. Both teams had looked equal from kick-off, and no-one was surprised when the match finally ended in a draw.