Atletico 0 - 5 Balorda (251857701)

43500 spectators had found their way to Atletico Barboni Arena, despite the heavy rain. Max Falkenlind was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ivo Alma and Luka Surdučki. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Atletico. Lineup: Wimmers - Iaria, Castro, Vaccarini - Ericsson, ten Damme, Miglietta, Tasane, Deelstra - Zannirato, Sampaio.

Balorda started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Mari - Chevallereau, Lo Bianco Corrado, Júnior - Bytyqi, MacLardie, Juncker, Musci, Kürbis - Antonacci, Bonini.

Pressing was the tactic of the day for Atletico. Atletico pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. F. Iaria, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Balorda's A. Bonini after 29 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. With 31 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed A. Bonini of Balorda to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 2. The players of Balorda now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. G. Antonacci had a hard time on the waterlogged pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight today. A misunderstanding between the visitors' keeper G. Mari and his left defence could have resulted in a goal for Atletico, but G. Miglietta's finish was way too lame. A. Bonini received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 41 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 3. The Balorda fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. At that, A. Bonini was noted down for a hat trick! 0 - 3 was the halftime score. Balorda enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 58 percent of possession.

The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but D. Sampaio showed great heart and had a good game. Had it not been for one of the home defenders, S. Chevallereau would have put Balorda up another goal 58 minutes into the match with his audacious lob from the right wing. Some fine movement on the left led to a Balorda goal after 62 minutes, making it 0 - 4. A. Musci was noted down as the scorer. With 73 minutes played, Balorda's well-worked indirect free kick caused havoc in the penalty area, and when the ball eventually fell to G. Antonacci he gleefully slotted the ball home to make it 0 - 5. Balorda claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 59 percent.

Most important Atletico player was R. Tasane. S. Wimmers turned in a dismal performance, however. Balorda's top performer was clearly B. Juncker. A. MacLardie on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 5.