Ballenstedt 0 - 5 Nord-Ost (384466514)

A scorching day at Askanja ballenstedt eks weck Stadion, where 17158 spectators were in place for today's match. Nikola Indzhov was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Anton Vilstrup and Joaquín Zaragozá. Ballenstedt started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Chita - Kosiacki, Gabbrielli, Totev - Schedelbeck, Brander, Livneh, Steenkamp, Leonetti - Elstner, Spirou.

A 4-3-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Nord-Ost. They fielded: Mattesini - Grabarczyk, Sliunkovas, Avrahami, Rampone - Polizzi, Kerachev, Järvinen - Elçibəy, Mahlambeni, Micciani.

Today, Ballenstedt's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Some great play up the middle by Ballenstedt led to a chance for Y. Spirou to score after 4 minutes, but the shot hit the crossbar. With the match clock at 5 minutes, Ballenstedt modified their style of play a little bit. After 5 minutes, the Ballenstedt coach had a quick word about the tactical set-up and decided to try another approach. S. Kerachev enjoyed the sunshine and demonstrated his stunning technique over and over again. Nord-Ost's A. Rampone managed to lose the defenders as he advanced down the right wing and scored, putting the visitors ahead after 14 minutes. 0 - 1. After 19 minutes, Nord-Ost's G. Polizzi burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 2. The visitors' L. Micciani took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 35 minutes into the match. 0 - 3 for Nord-Ost. After the ball was lifted in from the left, J. Järvinen was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 39 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. Halftime score was 0 - 3. Ballenstedt had most of the ball, with 52 percent of possession.

Ballenstedt needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 50 minutes V. Gabbrielli made way for V. Dürr. With 50 minutes played, the Ballenstedt coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. M. Birkmeier came on, Y. Livneh had to leave the fray. With 55 minutes played, Nord-Ost's well-worked indirect free kick caused havoc in the penalty area, and when the ball eventually fell to J. Järvinen he gleefully slotted the ball home to make it 0 - 4. L. Micciani could have put his team up another goal 71 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. After 76 minutes M. Elstner could have reduced the lead with a blistering strike from the left wing, had it not been for an excellent block by the visitors' keeper. With 79 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed O. Avrahami of Nord-Ost to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 5. Confident in their lead, Nord-Ost's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. 84 minutes into the game, F. Grabarczyk had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came M. Olmedo Ramos. Possession in this half belonged to Nord-Ost, who controlled the ball 52 percent of the time.

Ballenstedt's top performer was clearly M. Elstner. M. Birkmeier was a disappointment, however. İ. Elçibəy performed admirably for Nord-Ost. S. Kerachev on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 5.