U23 League

Right to Dream Park
Spectators: 161 (Terracing: 121, Seating: 37, VIP seats: 3) Manchester United FC's Paavo Salmela started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Juha Jokiranta made a fantastic save in the 5th minute, when Sindre Walle sent off a good shot on target. Jeppe Tverskov hit a great freekick 6 minutes into the match. 8 minutes into the match, FC Nordsjælland's goal looked a bit too open when Erik Cantona came free, but Henning Sæmer reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. When Manchester United FC's Paavo Salmela in the 14th minute got a chance for a shot 14th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye FC Nordsjælland's goalie prevented a goal. 15 minutes into the match, FC Nordsjælland's goal looked a bit too open when Veli Siivonen came free, but Henning Sæmer reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 17 minutes of play, Manchester United FC's Erik Cantona made it 0-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Henning Sæmer was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 19th minute, Pirkka Rautee hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Juha Jokiranta showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Benjamin Nygren in the 23rd minute of the match. If Paavo Salmela had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 24th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Henning Sæmer made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Veli Siivonen in the 26th minute of play. In the 27th minute Erik Cantona shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Henning Sæmer saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 29 minutes of play, Manchester United FC's Erik Cantona made it 0-3 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Henning Sæmer was left in no man's land by his defense there! The referee felt a red card was in order, 34 minutes into the game, when Roy Keane put in a rough tackle. Daniel Svensson took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 36th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Juha Jokiranta. Manchester United FC's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Dimitar Berbatov hit a great freekick 45 minutes into the match. The audience was convinced that Paavo Salmela's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Henning Sæmer was relentless in the 47th minute of the game. Disappointed in the 0-3 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

Juha Jokiranta took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Jeppe Tverskov, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Veli Siivonen recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 57th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Paavo Salmela was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 59th minute. Manchester United FC's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. The audience thought a goal was coming when Paavo Salmela got free with Henning Sæmer in the 61st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Benjamin Nygren charged in rather forcefully in the 62nd minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Benjamin Nygren the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. A hard shot 63 in the game by Paavo Salmela from a close distance when the talented Henning Sæmer managed to make a qualified save. FC Nordsjælland's players were relieved. Veli Siivonen hit a great freekick 65 minutes into the match. Manchester United FC's Juha Jokiranta played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Sindre Walle in the 66th minute of play. The supporters of Manchester United FC booed when FC Nordsjælland was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 68 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jeppe Tverskov didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dimitar Berbatov in the 74th minute of play forced Manchester United FC's goalkeeper Juha Jokiranta to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 78 minutes into the match, Manchester United FC's goal looked a bit too open when Benjamin Nygren came free, but Juha Jokiranta reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 79 minutes into the match, Paavo Salmela had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Henning Sæmer. FC Nordsjælland's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Paavo Salmela was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-4. After a rather tough play, Manchester United FC's Erik Cantona got a free kick in the 82nd minute. In the 83rd minute, Daniel Svensson got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 86th minute Kustaa Vappula shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Henning Sæmer saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 86 minutes into the match, Kustaa Vappula dribbled the ball past the defender and swiftly kicked the ball to the left of Henning Sæmer, 0-5. In the 94th match minute, FC Nordsjælland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Andreas Schjelderup to maneuver through the defense. The Manchester United FC players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.