U18 World League

Traugutta Park
Spectators: 7450 (Terracing: 5589, Seating: 1713, VIP seats: 148) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Mannie Abella got the match started through his kick off. When Deportivo Empate's Mannie Abella in the 3rd minute got a chance for a shot 3rd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Nadzieja Speed Elblag's goalie prevented a goal. A collision led to Deportivo Empate getting a freekick after 8 minutes play. Valerio Abecia hit a great ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Pim van Gaal got free with Nicholas Abello in the 9th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Celestino Abancens hit a great freekick 10 minutes into the match. In the 12th minute, Valerio Abecia hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some fancy dribbling in the 20th minute, Mannie Abella managed to get in a good position for a shot. Deportivo Empate's supporters rose to their feet, but Mannie Abella was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Teun Gierman breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. An unexpectedly hard shot by Mannie Abella in the 23rd minute of play forced Nadzieja Speed Elblag's goalkeeper Teun Gierman to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 25th minute, Franco Abascal managed to get in a good position for a shot. Deportivo Empate's supporters rose to their feet, but Franco Abascal was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Teun Gierman breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. When Deportivo Empate's Mannie Abella in the 32nd minute got a chance for a shot 32nd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Nadzieja Speed Elblag's goalie prevented a goal. Guter Abarca struck a weak shot in the 35th minute. Teun Gierman didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Deportivo Empate. After 36 played minutes Deportivo Empate got a freekick which was hit by Guter Abarca. Teun Gierman came out of the goal in the 38th minute to try and stop a shot by Deportivo Empate's Guter Abarca. But to his dismay, Guter Abarca quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 0-1. Teun Gierman showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mannie Abella in the 42nd minute of the match. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Pim van Gaal to make the kick off. If Mannie Abella had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 61st minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Mannie Abella in the 62nd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Teun Gierman prevented the ball from getting in the gole. When Franco Abascal came up free with the goalie in the 65th minute, the Deportivo Empate 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 Franco Abascal couldn't finish the play. Pim van Gaal charged in rather forcefully in the 70th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Pim van Gaal the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of Deportivo Empate booed when Nadzieja Speed Elblag was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 70 match minutes in a wonderful position. Pim van Gaal didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 73rdth minute of the game Mannie Abella who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Nadzieja Speed Elblag's Teun Gierman was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Mannie Abella might have been able to make a better finish in the 75th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Teun Gierman. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Mannie Abella ran back to his position shaking his head. Pim van Gaal fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 79th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nicholas Abello having to interfere. When the final whistle was heard the away supporters stood up and showed their joy. Deportivo Empate had managed to secure a win in what was a close match throughout.