U21 World League

Arena Piratini
Spectators: 7679 (Terracing: 5760, Seating: 1766, VIP seats: 153) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Jaime Cabral kicked off to start the match. Igor Czech's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Algimantas Zakaras firmly grabbed it by the left post. Grêmio Santo André's Claudinei Esteves played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Vytaras Liaudanskas in the 10th minute of play. 12 minutes into the match, Grêmio Santo André's Cauan Barros sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Algimantas Zakaras narrowly saved just below the crossbar. In the 13th minute, Cauan Barros reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Algimantas Zakaras. The goal made the score 1-0. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Romualdas Podėris in the 21st minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Claudinei Esteves prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Jotautas Bakštys's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Claudinei Esteves read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 24th minute of play. Grêmio Santo André's Claudinei Esteves played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Vytaras Liaudanskas in the 27th minute of play. Algimantas Zakaras didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Mai Yong Zhi went, in the 28th minute, to the upper right corner, 2-0 was the resulting score. Claudinei Esteves showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jotautas Bakštys, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. After 36 played minutes Grêmio Santo André got a freekick which was hit by Igor Czech. After having played for 37 minutes, Jotautas Bakštys managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Savage Hippo's supporters crossed their fingers, but Jotautas Bakštys was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. With a little luck, Savage Hippo's Algimantas Zakaras got control of the ball when Jaime Cabral tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 43rd minute Romualdas Podėris shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Claudinei Esteves saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. The home fans were very happy to see their team leading 2-0 at half-time.

If Romualdas Podėris had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 51st minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Grêmio Santo André's Claudinei Esteves proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 51st minute of the match, managed to save Grêmio Santo André from getting a goal against them. An unexpectedly hard shot by Mai Yong Zhi in the 59th minute of play forced Savage Hippo's goalkeeper Algimantas Zakaras to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Claudinei Esteves showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Jotautas Bakštys, who was totally free with the ball in the 64th minute. Algimantas Zakaras made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Cauan Barros in the 65th minute of play. Claudinei Esteves made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jotautas Bakštys in the 66th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Romualdas Podėris got free with Claudinei Esteves in the 72nd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 76th match minute, Grêmio Santo André was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Chiquinho Valle to maneuver through the defense. Vaclovas Jacinaitis blasted a shot towards the goal in the 77th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Claudinei Esteves having to make a save. 81 minutes into the match, Savage Hippo's Vytaras Liaudanskas sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Claudinei Esteves narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Claudinei Esteves made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Jotautas Bakštys in the 83rd minute of play. In the 86th minute, Simonas Balčys hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 87th minute, Mai Yong Zhi 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. Jotautas Bakštys scored 3-1 in the 89th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Claudinei Esteves, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered when the referee blew the final whistle. Grêmio Santo André had won after a very even match.