U18 World League

Palookaville
Spectators: 7591 (Terracing: 5694, Seating: 1746, VIP seats: 151) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Ralf Talsma started the match with the kick off. 2 minutes into the game, LIVERPOOL FC's Remus Papaiani nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Jan-Joost Smeekes made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. The crowd rose to their feet as Kurt Schröer kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Dorel Bunescu. That made the score 1-1 in the 6 minute of play. Roger Popken kicked well hit freekick during the 11th minute of the match. Martin Buteanu took the ball and in the 12 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Jan-Joost Smeekes. Jan-Joost Smeekes dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-2. Jan-Joost Smeekes showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Tudor Pintilescu, who was totally free with the ball in the 15th minute. LIVERPOOL FC's Dorel Bunescu played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Roger Popken in the 19th minute of play. 24 minutes into the match, Seagulls's goal looked a bit too open when Tudor Pintilescu came free, but Jan-Joost Smeekes reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After some careless play in the Seagulls defense, Remus Papaiani kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Jan-Joost Smeekes. The Seagulls fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Jan-Joost Smeekes should have stopped the shot. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Carsten Klaasens during the 31st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In the 31st match minute, Seagulls was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Carsten Klaasens to maneuver through the defense. Jan-Joost Smeekes made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Tudor Pintilescu in the 35th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Remus Papaiani in the 37th minute of play forced Seagulls's goalkeeper Jan-Joost Smeekes to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Seagulls's Jan-Joost Smeekes played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Remus Papaiani in the 44th minute of play. Tudor Pintilescu scored 1-4 in the 47th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Jan-Joost Smeekes, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. LIVERPOOL FC made a substitution. Mugur Martinaș replaced Remus Papaiani. Seagulls made a substitution. Pieter Sijmonds replaced Stef Pragt. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 1-4 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

After a rather tough play, LIVERPOOL FC's Tudor Pintilescu got a free kick in the 55th minute. When Roger Popken fell near the penalty area in the 58th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Seagulls's protests and gave Roger Popken a yellow card for diving instead. The crowd rose to their feet as LIVERPOOL FC's Mugur Martinaș slotted home a wonderful shot that went in to the left of Jan-Joost Smeekes. That made the score 1-5 after 60 minutes of play. Tudor Pintilescu, 63 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. Jan-Joost Smeekes showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mugur Martinaș in the 65th minute of the match. With a little luck, Seagulls's Jan-Joost Smeekes got control of the ball when Tudor Pintilescu tried to sneak it across the goal line. If Kurt Schröer had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 70th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. In the 71st minute, Ernest Fenici hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After 72 played minutes LIVERPOOL FC got a freekick which was hit by Ernest Fenici. A collision led to LIVERPOOL FC getting a freekick after 75 minutes play. Mihai Georgescu hit a great ball. The supporters of LIVERPOOL FC booed when Seagulls was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 82 match minutes in a wonderful position. Bill Dol didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Roger Popken in the 84th minute of play forced LIVERPOOL FC's goalkeeper Dorel Bunescu to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 85th minute, Bill Dol ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Dorel Bunescu was frozen by the shot and now it was 2-5. Roger Popken took the ball and in the 89 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Dorel Bunescu. Dorel Bunescu dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 3-5. With an all-out effort, LIVERPOOL FC's Jan-Joost Smeekes threw himself towards the right post 96 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Tudor Pintilescu, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. 98 minutes into the game, Mugur Martinaș cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 3-6. Jan-Joost Smeekes was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. LIVERPOOL FC played a much better game than Seagulls and deserved their victory. The Seagulls players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.