Sigoaqui 2 - 4 Portugal (393240018)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Force saw a crowd turnout of 29040. Xavier Neff was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Roger Kjellsson and Sebastiano Mocci. Sigoaqui tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Cornelis - Fajardo, Parafestas, Xavier - Herz, Gasser, van Griethuijsen, Yánez, Lucia - Särkioja, Peraldo.

Portugal started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. Lineup: Wilson - Sarzeda, Philipsen - Andreasson, Velandia, Molina, Rentería, Furtado - Acencio, Grimau, Otaño.

The wings were the focus of most of Sigoaqui's attacks today. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Portugal's C. Philipsen after 3 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. The home crowd cheered when, after 17 minutes, A. Velandia's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. 18 minutes into the game, H. van Griethuijsen came close to levelling the score with a dangerous shot from the centre of the area that went just over the bar. After 22 minutes Portugal's A. Molina limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 31 minutes, Portugal tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. 32 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 2 as B. Acencio finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. After 35 minutes Portugal's G. Rentería contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. 0 - 2 was the score after the first half. Portugal enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 56 percent of possession.

Sigoaqui didn't give in and with 50 minutes played F. Gasser was able to make the score 1 - 2 after an attack on the right. Some fine movement on the left led to a Portugal goal after 64 minutes, making it 1 - 3. C. Otaño was noted down as the scorer. The home crowd were delighted when J. Särkioja scored with a header after an attack from the right, making the score 2 - 3. But did he use his hand? That'll be one for the pundits to talk about after the game, that's for sure! A defender managed to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line after a curling shot coming in from the right from A. Molina after 74 minutes, and prevented Portugal from going up another goal. Unhappy with the result so far in the game, the Sigoaqui manager used a brief break in play after 75 minutes to give the players new directives. The Sigoaqui coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. The referee showed Portugal's C. Otaño the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A. Peraldo charged down the left and had a wonderful opportunity to score the equaliser for Sigoaqui, but the shot went well wide of the goal. A. Molina of Portugal took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 80 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 2 - 4. Portugal came close to extending their lead as A. Molina delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 84 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Portugal, with 56 percent of the ball.

A. Peraldo performed admirably for Sigoaqui. V. Xavier was a disappointment, however. Most important Portugal player was A. Molina. However, B. Andreasson made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 4.