Fighters 1 - 2 NorthEastern (376308118)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 32921 at The Anacondas Graveyard today. Hartmut Schmising was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Andreas Pettersson and Donatien Astoul. Fighters had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Blanckaert - Munger, Dias, Senekowitsch - Diez, Fresneda, São José, Wartensleben, Grim - Veerlann, Olczyk.

NorthEastern started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. They fielded: Slegt - Todorov, Scaletti, Sperling - Pérez, Galvin, Guzman, Oneto - Jeanty, Dahl, Ederer.

The visiting F. Ederer was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 3 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 0 - 1 was the score. T. Dahl could have put his team up another goal 16 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. A defender managed to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line after a curling shot coming in from the right from T. Guzman after 23 minutes, and prevented NorthEastern from going up another goal. A. São José made a superb strike after 28 minutes with a shot straight in front of the goal after a long ball through the middle, but one of the visitors' defenders got a foot in at the last second and warded it off for a corner. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 1. Fighters enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

T. Dahl came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over S. Blanckaert but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave T. Dahl from NorthEastern a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 68 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! With a shot curled in from just outside the middle of the penalty area after 81 minutes played, O. Wartensleben of Fighters made the score 1 - 1. Fighters had a chance to take the lead after E. Dias's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 82 minutes. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 83 minutes allowed B. Todorov to score for NorthEastern. The scoreboard now read 1 - 2. Fighters claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 56 percent.

S. Veerlann performed admirably for Fighters. Z. Diez was a disappointment, however. Most important NorthEastern player was T. Dahl. A. Scaletti on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 2.