Pownage 3 - 1 Epo (379506469)

1009 fans braved the pouring rain at Pownage Allianz Arena. Ingo Gillig was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Nick Barsits and Per Pettersson. Pownage decided to use a 5-2-3 set up. The following players took the field: Presutti - Vesanto, Marković, Flinkstål, Giammarinaro, Fiori - Mansoor, De Valck - Fusco, Patteri, Kreiensen.

Epo had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Gallard - Erström, Kronhult, Sica - Marques, Trendafilov, Hurwitz, Santicoli, Canedo - Pettersson, Heller.

Today, Pownage's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. 19 minutes in, Pownage's B. Flinkstål received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. F. Patteri was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. Epo's V. Santicoli was shown a yellow card after 28 minutes for slicing down an opponent. 36 minutes into the game, Pownage seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. Pownage's M. Kreiensen got himself booked for a foul. With 40 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, N. Fiori needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. The muddy pitch made the game a gritty affair, which seemed to suit G. Fusco just fine. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave N. Fiori from Pownage a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 44 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! It was 0 - 0 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Epo, with 66 percent of the ball.

The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that Pownage had solid organisation. 48 minutes into the game, A. Trendafilov almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. 65 minutes into the game, Pownage wanted to bring some new energy to their game. S. Mansoor gave R. Sellin a quick hug as he left the field. With 68 minutes played, R. Sellin of Pownage fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. The referee showed Epo's L. Erström the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 70 minutes Pownage's Y. De Valck contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. The cannonball from 35 metres by L. Marković of Pownage was an impressive sight, but didn't make it into the net. F. Patteri could have put Pownage into the lead after 73 minutes, but the free kick went just wide. 75 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Epo substitution. J. Zēbergs came on for B. Canedo. After 77 minutes, the visitors nearly went up a goal, but G. Sica's free kick hit the crossbar. 83 minutes into the game, Pownage seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a passable level of organisation. Epo enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.

As neither team had managed to win, extra time was called. A review of the gameplan helped Pownage get back to a solid organisation when the referee blew his whistle again. After 109 minutes a very unfortunate collision in the penalty area led to Pownage's G. Fusco being carried off the pitch and replaced by L. Melo. G. Sica, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. There was still no winner after 30 minutes of extra time so the teams had to select a lineup for a penalty shoot-out to settle the result.

Pownage's L. Presutti coolly put the ball past A. Gallard. 1 - 0. Epo's F. Pettersson was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 1 - 1! Pownage's M. Kreiensen didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of A. Gallard. The score remained 1 - 1. Oooh - how unlucky! Epo's W. Kronhult attempt hit the underside of the bar, but rebounded down into the grateful arms of L. Presutti. The score stays 1 - 1. When it comes to placing a ball precisely, F. Patteri is a real wizard. He put it safely away for Pownage to make the score 2 - 1. Clearly nervous from the start, Epo's L. Erström took a long run up, but could only blast the ball over the bar. The score remains 2 - 1. Pownage's N. Fiori showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 3 - 1. Epo's L. Marques looked like he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball, but unfortunately his shot went wide of the left hand post. Still 3 - 1. Pownage's R. Vesanto looked nervous even as he was putting the ball on the spot. He didn't take much of a run up, and his weak shot was easily saved by the keeper. Epo's Y. Hurwitz didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of L. Presutti. The score remained 3 - 1. The most dominating Pownage player was without a doubt R. Vesanto. On the other hand, M. Giammarinaro's play was disheartening. Epo's top performer was clearly E. Heller. A. Gallard on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 1.