?We thought this was a friendly and when we got to the stadium we had to quickly change our mindset, after seeing what the crowd was like,? said Juventus team manager and captain, Charlie Slusher. Coban came with fans and the stadium was packed as an extra attraction of the Annual Benque Viejo Festival. The Coban fans thought this was just another walk in the park – an easy win.

Juventus featured two new additions to their lineup because of the unavailability of some of their players, i.e. Deris ?Colombia? Benavides, Orlando ?Daddy? Ramirez Dennis Alvarez, and Kenny Chi, just to name a few. Wayne Wiltshire was on the roster, along with Jarbi Alvarez, who played the stopper position that is normally the spot for Kevin Pelayo, with Allan ?Toobus? Flowers assisting in the defense.

The first half was more of a testing period for both teams, none applying any real pressure. But it was obvious that Coban was the better team in technical aspects of the game, having the edge in ball possession. In the trenches of the defensive area, Coban appeared not to panic but passed the ball around to get out of tight situations, in contrast to Belizean clubs, who resort to the ?empty? at all costs inside their own eighteen.

When the ball would come into the midfield, however, Coban experienced the pressure of Juventus being quicker, stronger and more aggressive in limiting the amount of spacing. If the first half was for testing purposes only, the pressure turned up in the second half. Both teams came out with a different level of intensity and renewed energy.

Rudolph Flowers replaced Dean Flowers in the second half, along with big brother Allan ?Toobus? Flowers, who was substituted for Merlin Teck. The result was more firepower for Juventus with ?Toobus? taking Dean Flowers? position on the left and Oliver ?Lionheart? Hendricks moving to Merlin Teck?s ten spot, sending Rudolph Flowers to a more familiar position at striker with ?The Lionheart? controlling the offense up top. Oliver playing in that position gave Christopher Hendricks and Rudolph Flowers the opportunity to run free.

Late in the half ?Toobus? received a pass from Oliver Hendricks and found baby brother Rudolph Flowers in an open spot. The Coban goalie came out to defend but was tricked when Rudolph faked a hard shot and chipped it in for the first goal. A few minutes later Christopher Hendricks was fouled on top of the eighteen-yard box where a free kick was awarded. Rudolph Flowers took the shot over the wall and out of the reach of the Guatemalan keeper for the 2-nil lead. Harrison ?Cafu? Roches replaced Donnie Tun on a substitution and proved to be the right substitution when ?Cafu? was the recipient of a gift from Chris Hendricks. ?Cafu?, alone with the keeper, placed it low on the grass for the third and final goal.

Coban Imperial, very much impressed with Juventus, have offered a rematch to be played sometime in September of this year in Guatemala.