Gorica 3 - 2 Postojna (273138062)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 5666 to Celtic Arena. Peer Zollstock was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jussi Pöyry and Anders Bergkvist. Gorica tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players took the field: Živanić - Laurenčič, Potočki, Čeh, Smrečnjak - Spegelj, Vardjan, Puh, Madič - Pajk, Pečolar.

Postojna had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Rodman - Žitnik, Šegović, Rakovič, Hribar - Koren, Penca, Čeh, Zidar - Lebar, Šoba.

Gorica showed off their creative tactics. With 16 minutes gone, Gorica had a free kick in a decent position. Despite this being a great chance for a shot, they tried a cheeky move intended to bypass the defence. However, J. Pajk did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. 23 minutes into the match Postojna's M. Žitnik head butted an opponent nastily, and so the referee sent him off immediately. The head of T. Vardjan connected with a corner kick after 26 minutes, and the ball ended up with E. Laurenčič of Gorica who blasted the ball into the net, making the score 1 - 0. Gorica's R. Spegelj had an excellent opportunity after 30 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! Cheers filled the stadium as K. Madič broke through the visitors' central defence to put away the ball to increase the lead to 2 - 0 to Gorica. Gorica's K. Madič swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball. G. Hribar always provides an aerial threat at corners, and with 40 minutes gone, he demonstrated this, outjumping his marker, then letting out an anguished howl as his powerful header went narrowly wide. The visitors' right side was dangerous today; J. Penca made the home team's keeper look foolish as he easily reduced the lead to make it 2 - 1 41 minutes into the match. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Gorica, with 60 percent of the ball.

A cross coming in on the right hand side left V. Šoba alone in front of the goal after 47 minutes but his shot was woeful. Gorica's counterattacks created a good chance for K. Madič on the right after 48 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. Postojna's Š. Zidar was shown a yellow card after 62 minutes for slicing down an opponent. C. Šegović made a good effort at breaking through on the right, but the home team's left defence cleared the ball to a corner. After 70 minutes Gorica's E. Laurenčič contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. S. Pečolar had a fantastic opportunity to put Gorica up another goal 71 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. T. Vardjan seemed to be huffing and puffing 84 minutes into the match. J. Penca of Postojna took advantage of his obvious fatigue to chip in past the keeper. 2 - 2 R. Spegelj gave Gorica the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 3 - 2 Gorica claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.

Gorica's best player was J. Pajk. On the other hand, S. Živanić's play was disheartening. G. Hribar performed admirably for Postojna. However, J. Rodman made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 2.