Phoenix 1 - 2 markovec (393211931)

Clear skies welcomed the 61283 spectators who had made their way to Phoenix Field. 范 (Fan) 廷匀 (Tingyun) was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Michele Passarelli and Arthur Combes. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Phoenix. Lineup: Šilje - Janke, Prakash, Hitrec - Briones, Öztuna, Massaccesi, Gundersen, Mlinar - Łopuszański, Pantić.

markovec had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Botía - Örgen, Cano, Kayıhan - Vallejos, Östberg, Dehllund, Ghioane, Mergentheim - Höhle, Läufle.

Phoenix had a chance to take the lead after J. Janke's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 19 minutes. R. Ghioane had a good opportunity to give markovec the lead as he charged down the right and struck the ball towards the top corner, but the home team's goalkeeper made the save. 30 minutes into the game, G. Läufle was a hair's breadth away from giving markovec the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by P. Šilje saved the home team that time. G. Mergentheim had a good try after 32 minutes, coming in on a fine move from the left, but the ball went wide. markovec's M. Dehllund managed to lose the defenders as he advanced down the right wing and scored, putting the visitors ahead after 33 minutes. 0 - 1. It was 0 - 1 at the break. markovec had most of the ball, with 54 percent of possession.

After 56 minutes of game time, G. Läufle had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but P. Šilje was in the right place and tipped the ball over for a corner. The home crowd cheered when, after 57 minutes, A. Kayıhan's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. With 63 minutes played, S. Östberg of markovec fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. 64 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 2 as M. Höhle finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. Confident in their lead, markovec's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. After 77 minutes, Phoenix raised their score by one when R. Briones's dangerous low cross was cleverly tucked in at the near post by A. Pantić. 1 - 2. markovec came close to extending their lead as T. Örgen delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 78 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. A. Łopuszański was just a finger's breadth away from an equaliser for Phoenix with a strike from the left, but L. Botía managed to ward the shot off for a corner. L. Botía wanted to play on, but the markovec coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 81 minutes into the game by A. Monteiro. M. Dehllund became the new markovec captain. Possession in this half belonged to markovec, who controlled the ball 53 percent of the time.

Most important Phoenix player was B. Öztuna. G. Mlinar turned in a dismal performance, however. markovec's best player was G. Läufle. On the other hand, A. Monteiro's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 2.