U23 World League

Wamba Arena
Spectators: 7495 (Terracing: 5622, Seating: 1724, VIP seats: 149) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Paulus Van Hove made the kick off which started today's match. 4 minutes into the match, Wambalamba FC's goal looked a bit too open when Aurelian Barboni came free, but Toninho Moura reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Norbert Van den Gans fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 10th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Toninho Moura having to interfere. After 11 played minutes Wambalamba FC got a freekick which was hit by Murilo Soares. Toninho Moura showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Daan Vos in the 13th minute of the match. After 15 minutes of play, Wambalamba FC's Gernando Gerber made it 1-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Baxter De Hond was left in no man's land by his defense there! 24 minutes into the game, Zé Paulo Motta was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Wambalamba FC's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave de belletrekkers the free kick. In the 26th minute, Levi Mertens 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. In the 32nd minute Gernando Gerber shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Baxter De Hond saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 36 minutes into the match, Wambalamba FC's goal looked a bit too open when Daan Vos came free, but Toninho Moura reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. de belletrekkers were awarded a corner in the 40th minute after Wambalamba FC's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Levi Mertens took the corner. Aurelian Barboni's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Toninho Moura read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 42nd minute of play. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 1-0 at half-time.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Cauã Barreto made a kick off. The audience thought a goal was coming when Levi Mertens got free with Toninho Moura in the 54th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. 54 minutes into the match, Wambalamba FC's goalkeeper Toninho Moura had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Levi Mertens. After some careless play in the de belletrekkers defense, Cauã Barreto kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Baxter De Hond. The de belletrekkers fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Baxter De Hond should have stopped the shot. Toninho Moura made an important save on a dangerous shot by Levi Mertens in the 62nd minute. When Levi Mertens came up free with the goalie in the 65th minute, the de belletrekkers fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Levi Mertens couldn't finish the play. Baxter De Hond showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from João Paulo Dantas, who was totally free with the ball in the 71st minute. Baxter De Hond came out of the goal in the 74th minute to try and stop a shot by Wambalamba FC's Cauã Barreto. But to his dismay, Cauã Barreto quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 3-0. 81 minutes into the match, Levi Mertens had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Toninho Moura. Wambalamba FC's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Levi Mertens was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 3-2. de belletrekkers's Baxter De Hond played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Cauã Barreto in the 85th minute of play. In the 90th minute, Daan Vos ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Toninho Moura was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-3. If Aurelian Barboni had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 94th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Both teams had looked equal from kick-off, and no-one was surprised when the match finally ended in a draw.