Bondi 2 - 1 Balmain (268900950)

130778 punters turned up at Nimbin Stadium, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Fabian Rätscher was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Steve Ramondt and Harm Jan van Helmond. The match took place on neutral ground. Bondi tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Karić - Běloch, Bino, Szumski - Tastula, Makhrami, Loro, Casais, Johnson - Counotte, Zlatkov.

Balmain started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Someritis - Gimeno, Kaasalainen, Fabricius, Hillerts - Alchin, Blunn, Dub, Shannon - Duddridge, Kang-Chew.

Balmain mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. The Balmain free kick 2 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of Ó. Gimeno, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 0 - 1! J. Loro of Bondi received a yellow card after 26 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. With a shot curled in from just outside the middle of the penalty area after 33 minutes played, S. Běloch of Bondi made the score 1 - 1. 1 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to Bondi, who controlled the ball 52 percent of the time.

After 47 minutes, following yet another great corner, A. Alchin's flick on at the near post reached Ó. Gimeno, who was just wide with his snapshot - the ball went out for a goal kick. The coach of Bondi wanted to try to change things around after 55 minutes, and gave new tactical instructions. 60 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Bondi substitution. N. Gallo came on for N. Johnson. Balmain had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 63 minutes in when B. Dub came up alone against T. Karić who managed a block. Bondi took the lead 73 minutes in, as J. Loro broke through on the left and put the 2 - 1 shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper. Bondi's S. Běloch was shown a yellow card after 82 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Unfortunately for Balmain, F. Shannon was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. C. Gâlmencea replaced him. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Balmain, with 52 percent of the ball.

Bondi's top performer was clearly J. Loro. However, N. Gallo made a disastrous appearance. Balmain's best player was T. Kang-Chew. C. Fabricius on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 1.