World League

Estádio Arthur Leite
Spectators: 7478 (Terracing: 5610, Seating: 1719, VIP seats: 149) Niceto Ihazintu started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Jorge Henrique was probably a little too eager to shoot when he, in the 3rd played minute, shot the ball from way out. The shot was hard, but the ball flew wide of the goal. Rigoberto Thomas's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Ergo Muro read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 7th minute of play. In the 8th minute Santa Maradona were awarded a corner. Rodolfo Cordeiro went to the cornerflag to take it. With a little luck, Santa Maradona's Jonathan Errapel got control of the ball when Niceto Ihazintu tried to sneak it across the goal line. Caatiba MZC's Ergo Muro played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rigoberto Thomas in the 13th minute of play. In the 14th minute, Rigoberto Thomas left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Santa Maradona fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 0-1. Fahl Figueroa kicked well hit freekick during the 21st minute of the match. Niceto Ihazintu who was well placed in front of the goal fired away a dangerous shot that in the 25thth minute tested the skills of Jonathan Errapel when he managed to save the team from getting behind. Niceto Ihazintus short, quick shot in the 25thth minute got Jonathan Errapel to make great effort and bar the ball away from getting in. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rodolfo Cordeiro in the 27th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Ergo Muro prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Santa Maradona's Jonathan Errapel proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 30th minute of the match, managed to save Santa Maradona from getting a goal against them. An unexpectedly hard shot by Rigoberto Thomas in the 33rd minute of play forced Caatiba MZC's goalkeeper Ergo Muro to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Caatiba MZC's Ergo Muro played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rodolfo Cordeiro in the 40th minute of play. A throw-in in the 44th minute of the game was made by Hakkı Kenan Ushan with Rigoberto Thomas as target, who quickly passed the ball forward. After some fancy dribbling in the 45th minute, Rodolfo Cordeiro managed to get in a good position for a shot. Santa Maradona's supporters rose to their feet, but Rodolfo Cordeiro was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ergo Muro breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. A collision led to Caatiba MZC getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Natã Siqueira hit a great ball. Hector Garofalis's late challenge caught a Santa Maradona's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Hector Garofalis helped the player get up and apologised. After a rather tough play, Caatiba MZC's Hector Garofalis got a free kick in the 46th minute. It was beautiful to see Santa Maradona's Hakkı Kenan Ushan in action when he in the 48th minute dribbled his way through a couple of opponents and the fired away a shot from almost standing still. First the ball seemed to get in, but turned out to be on the outside of the net. A great chance! Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Rodolfo Cordeiro to make the kick off. 65 minutes into the match, Miguel Transito had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Ergo Muro. Caatiba MZC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Miguel Transito was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-3. Ergo Muro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rodolfo Cordeiro, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience thought a goal was coming when Rigoberto Thomas got free with Ergo Muro in the 71st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After 72 minutes, Herminio Birila mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Santa Maradona and the Caatiba MZC players grew even worse after the yellow card. Jonathan Errapel made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Niceto Ihazintu in the 78th minute of play. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Natã Siqueira during the 81st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. A collision led to Caatiba MZC getting a freekick after 81 minutes play. Natã Siqueira hit a great ball. Ergo Muro took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rodolfo Cordeiro, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Jonathan Errapel took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Niceto Ihazintu, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Niceto Ihazintu in the 88th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Jonathan Errapel prevented the ball from getting in the gole. An unexpectedly hard shot by Niceto Ihazintu in the 90th minute of play forced Santa Maradona's goalkeeper Jonathan Errapel to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Delfim Bertassi kicked well hit freekick during the 92nd minute of the match. A sloppy throw-in by Gervasio Garcia in the 95th minute of the game went astray and was snapped up by Caatiba MZC's Delfim Bertassi. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Santa Maradona walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.