National Stadium
Spectators: 10307 (Terracing: 7731,
Seating: 2370, VIP seats: 206) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Giovanni Chavarria got the match started through his kick off. In the 11th minute, Randall Leal made a precise shot to the right of Iakobos Liachames. U21 Cyprus's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-0. U21 Cyprus's Aigis Giannakopoulos got a good chance for a goal in the 19th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 22nd minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Costa Rica's goalkeeper Lucas Loaiza, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Christos Roros fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 27th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Lucas Loaiza having to interfere. When Milton Vanderlat fell near the penalty area in the 31st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 Costa Rica's protests and gave Milton Vanderlat a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to U21 Costa Rica getting a freekick after 31 minutes play. Milton Vanderlat hit a great ball. Lucas Loaiza showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Christos Roros, who was totally free with the ball in the 32nd minute. Iakobos Liachames took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Nino Jara, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After some careless play in the U21 Cyprus defense, Giovanni Chavarria kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Iakobos Liachames. The U21 Cyprus fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Iakobos Liachames should have stopped the shot. The supporters of U21 Costa Rica booed when U21 Cyprus was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 44 match minutes in a wonderful position. Plouton Laganas didn't get a good kick on the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Giovanni Chavarria in the 48th minute of play forced U21 Cyprus's goalkeeper Iakobos Liachames to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.
The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Augeias Roussos stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 57th minute, Giovanni Chavarria hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. 61 minutes into the match, Aigis Giannakopoulos had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Lucas Loaiza. U21 Costa Rica's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Aigis Giannakopoulos was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 2-1. U21 Costa Rica made a substitution. Rene Carazo replaced Giovanni Chavarria. The audience was convinced that Augeias Roussos's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Lucas Loaiza was relentless in the 65th minute of the game. 67 minutes into the match, U21 Costa Rica's goal looked a bit too open when Augeias Roussos came free, but Lucas Loaiza reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Costa Rica's Lucas Loaiza played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Aigis Giannakopoulos in the 69th minute of play. 70 minutes into the game, U21 Cyprus's Aigis Giannakopoulos nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Lucas Loaiza made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-2. In the 73rd minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Costa Rica's goalkeeper Lucas Loaiza, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. With a little luck, U21 Costa Rica's Lucas Loaiza got control of the ball when Augeias Roussos tried to sneak it across the goal line. The audience thought a goal was coming when Plouton Laganas got free with Lucas Loaiza in the 76th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. In the 76th minute, Plouton Laganas left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The U21 Cyprus fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-3. Aigis Giannakopoulos recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 79th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 81st minute Alkeides Atsidakos shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Lucas Loaiza saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Cyprus were awarded a corner in the 82th minute after U21 Costa Rica's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Palaimon Lalagos took the corner. After taking down the ball on U21 Cyprus's corner Palaimon Lalagos fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Lucas Loaiza quite easily take care of the ball. With a little luck, U21 Costa Rica's Lucas Loaiza got control of the ball when Augeias Roussos tried to sneak it across the goal line. Lucas Loaiza took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Thodoris Vlachos, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Iakobos Liachames made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rene Carazo in the 92nd minute of play. U21 Cyprus's Iakobos Liachames played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rene Carazo in the 93rd minute of play. Lucas Loaiza was a little too slow when Thodoris Vlachos got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 95th minute. The score was now 2-4. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched U21 Cyprus eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.
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