Neuhof/Zenn 0 - 1 Duivels (379567502)

2326 punters turned up at Waldstadion, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Teppo Puhakainen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Matthias Åher and Bjørn Buran. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Neuhof/Zenn. Starters: Landstuhl - Fauconnet, Silcher - Scheurer, Gatzemeier, Umlauf, Vetterl, Sparla - Krischler, Koliseva, Zamarromalo.

Duivels decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. Lineup: Munier - Taylor, Ercolini, Ferong, Ţăranu - Lombilla, Hansson, Mikkelsen, Weratschnig, Graftiaux - Hormiga.

Today, Neuhof/Zenn's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave N. Sparla from Neuhof/Zenn a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 15 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Duivels were forced into a substitution as T. Taylor couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing C. Houfflyn to come in off the bench. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, A. Lombilla got himself booked. The manager of Duivels was not happy. After 39 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Neuhof/Zenn found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to inadequate. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 41 minutes, Duivels did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, F. Graftiaux was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 0 - 1. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Duivels, with 61 percent of the ball.

The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that Neuhof/Zenn had solid organisation. After 50 minutes, Neuhof/Zenn switched M. Silcher with L. Van Huffelen, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. With 50 minutes played, the Neuhof/Zenn coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. H. van Maasdam came on, M. Vetterl had to leave the fray. The bench was restless, and with 50 minutes passed Neuhof/Zenn's coach gave K. Ostenfeld the opportunity the player had been hoping for. N. Scheurer reluctantly left the field. Duivels's C. Houfflyn was shown a yellow card after 64 minutes for slicing down an opponent. 83 minutes were showing on the scoreboard when Duivels's C. Houfflyn received his second yellow card and was sent off. 86 minutes in, Neuhof/Zenn appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only passable. 89 minutes into the game, Duivels worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. The referee showed Duivels's K. Ferong the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 89 minutes, Neuhof/Zenn were awarded a free kick. Rather than shooting straight at goal, the taker went for an indirect variant which seemed to take his team mates a bit by surprise. J. Koliseva did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans. Possession in this half belonged to Duivels, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

Neuhof/Zenn's top performer was clearly J. Koliseva. D. Umlauf was a disappointment, however. Most important Duivels player was W. Weratschnig. S. Munier on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 1.