National Stadium
Spectators: 10305 (Terracing: 7729,
Seating: 2370, VIP seats: 206) In the 7th minute, Svetaslav Demchenko hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. The audience cheered loudly when Hassan Tshabalala's long shot in the 8th minute became 1-0 when the ball went to the left of and passed Andrey Galkin. If Milton Mncube had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 16th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 19 minutes into the game, Rafael Modipa was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 South Africa's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Belarus the free kick. A collision led to U21 South Africa getting a freekick after 19 minutes play. Rafael Modipa hit a great ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Svetaslav Navojka in the 27th minute of play forced U21 South Africa's goalkeeper Leslie Thebe to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 30 minutes into the match, U21 South Africa's goal looked a bit too open when Vladimir Tihamirov came free, but Leslie Thebe reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Jafta Tshabalala struck a weak shot in the 33rd minute. Andrey Galkin didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 South Africa. A collision led to U21 Belarus getting a freekick after 33 minutes play. Stanislav Aleksandrov hit a great ball. If Svetaslav Navojka had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 35th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 39 minutes in the game, Milton Mncube fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Andrey Galkin having to interfere. 43 minutes into the game, Jafta Tshabalala cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-0. Andrey Galkin was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. Andrey Galkin made a fantastic save in the 46th minute, when Jafta Tshabalala sent off a good shot on target. In the 47th match minute, U21 Belarus was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Stanislav Aleksandrov to maneuver through the defense. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-0 at half-time.
The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Jafta Tshabalala stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. After having played for 59 minutes, Milton Mncube managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 South Africa's supporters crossed their fingers, but Milton Mncube was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Vladimir Tihamirov in the 60th minute of play forced U21 South Africa's goalkeeper Leslie Thebe to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 61st minute Milton Mncube shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Andrey Galkin saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in U21 South Africa's zone, Vasily Zhadanov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Leslie Thebe came out of the goal and Vasily Zhadanov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After 65 minutes of play, U21 South Africa's Milton Mncube made it 3-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Andrey Galkin was left in no man's land by his defense there! 68 minutes into the game, U21 South Africa's Jafta Tshabalala nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Andrey Galkin made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 4-0. After 72 minutes, Svetaslav Navojka made it 4-1 with a short kick to the right side. U21 South Africa's Leslie Thebe tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. U21 South Africa's Madolo Serage was substituted for Rafael Modipa. 78 minutes had been played when some careless play by U21 South Africa's defense caused the ball to cross the line for a corner. Vladimir Tihamirov was slow to take the kick. During this time U21 Belarus's players had a chance to rest. After having played for 85 minutes, Jafta Tshabalala managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 South Africa's supporters crossed their fingers, but Jafta Tshabalala was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. U21 Belarus's Zahar Bloh was substituted for Vladimir Tihamirov. With 92 minutes on the clock, Mpenza Setlaba commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 92nd minute of the game. One of U21 South Africa:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of U21 Belarus:s goal. Milton Mncube sent away a hard shot on goal in the 95th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Zahar Bloh in the 98th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Leslie Thebe prevented the ball from getting in the gole. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The U21 South Africa fans cheered their team off the field, for while U21 Belarus had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.
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