Hopeloos 1 - 3 Antwerp_1880 (372954297)

53685 spectators had come to New Trafford (Schilde) this cloudy day. Guillaume Pocholle was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jakob von und zu Scharnstein and Fabio Grazziani. Everyone was excited about the upcoming Antwerpen derby and the crowd was divided evenly. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Hopeloos. Lineup: Baggio - Flori, Goldsmith, Carrey - Dumitru, Mitrović, Pop, Deconinck, Mätzler - Nauwelaers, Siuru.

Antwerp_1880 had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. They fielded: Abussi - Mercadal, Voortman, Taverniers - Mottet, Nuyens, Vanden Abeele, Hobbelen - Keirsebilck, Brams, Kruszyński.

The wings were the focus of most of Hopeloos's attacks today. A. Baggio looked great 4 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' L. Voortman. Hopeloos took the lead after 18 minutes as a result of M. Mitrović's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 1 - 0. The visitors didn't give in and, after 30 minutes, Z. Kruszyński got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 1 - 1. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 38 minutes allowed I. Mercadal to score for Antwerp_1880. The scoreboard now read 1 - 2. It was 1 - 2 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Antwerp_1880, with 56 percent of the ball.

After 47 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave M. Hobbelen a chance to increase the lead for Antwerp_1880, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 1 - 3. Confident in their lead, Antwerp_1880's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. L. Keirsebilck was, after 57 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper A. Baggio made the save. 71 minutes into the match, J. Brams came through the middle and almost added to his team's lead, but the shot went wide. Possession in this half belonged to Antwerp_1880, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

H. Deconinck performed admirably for Hopeloos. A. Carrey turned in a dismal performance, however. Antwerp_1880's best player was Z. Kruszyński. On the other hand, L. Voortman's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 3.