National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Rueben Cleveland got the match started through his kick off. The audience was convinced that Dwight Yorke's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Gerard Murphy was relentless in the 5th minute of the game. Gerard Murphy took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dwight Yorke, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Martin Morland took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rueben Cleveland, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Martin Morland made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rueben Cleveland in the 11th minute of play. After some careless play in the U21 Norway defense, Tin Tin kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Martin Morland. The U21 Norway fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Martin Morland should have stopped the shot. After 18 played minutes U21 Norway got a freekick which was hit by Andreas Hustoft. U21 Norway's Martin Morland played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Tin Tin in the 21st minute of play. In the 21st minute, Zinedine Özil hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Norway's zone, Tin Tin stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Martin Morland came out of the goal and Tin Tin tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The U21 Norway fans' excitement grew in the 32nd match minute when U21 Norway's Marius Olsen looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 1-1 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. U21 Norway's Martin Morland played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rueben Cleveland in the 36th minute of play. Martin Morland showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rueben Cleveland in the 39th minute of the match. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Rueben Cleveland during the 42nd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Rueben Cleveland hit a great freekick 42 minutes into the match. In the 44th minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Norway's goalkeeper Martin Morland, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After 49 minutes, Zinedine Özil mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 Norway and the U21 United States players grew even worse after the yellow card. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Marius Olsen to make the kick off. In the 54th match minute, U21 United States was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Flint Toney to maneuver through the defense. In a very dangerous position, a player in U21 United States fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 56th minute. Penalty! U21 Norway's Martin Morland played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rueben Cleveland in the 64th minute of play. In the 65th minute of the match U21 United States got a corner. U21 Norway's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Claude Park ran over to the corner to take the kick. Rueben Cleveland sent away a hard shot on goal in the 67th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Gerard Murphy made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dwight Yorke in the 70th minute of play. In the 73rd minute Rueben Cleveland shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Martin Morland saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Martin Morland took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rueben Cleveland, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Gerard Murphy stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Marius Olsen's shot from short distance in the 76th minute. Gerard Murphy came out of the goal in the 78th minute to try and stop a shot by U21 Norway's Marius Olsen. But to his dismay, Marius Olsen quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1. U21 United States made a substitution. Max Gauthier replaced Rueben Cleveland. After a rather tough play, U21 United States's Max Gauthier got a free kick in the 86th minute. After a defensive mix-up in U21 United States's zone, Marius Olsen stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gerard Murphy came out of the goal and Marius Olsen tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Max Gauthier in the 93rd minute of play forced U21 Norway's goalkeeper Martin Morland to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Claude Park hit a great freekick 94 minutes into the match. Gerard Murphy made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Marius Olsen in the 97th minute of play. In the 99th minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 United States's goalkeeper Gerard Murphy, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. U21 Norway's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.