Needs 3 - 0 Sona (280248267)

23300 spectators had found their way to The Bosman Stadium, despite the heavy rain. Sebastian Ali was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Magnar Wiik and Enrique Bollar. Needs had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. Starters: Blösl - Rissoson, Bolgiu, Koontz, Håkansson - Hebeda, Bruvik, Manai, Mouthaan, Tomescu - Johnson.

Sona decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players took the field: Kiszczak - Jouve, Murphy, Forsbratt - Biktashev, Perrotta, Alcântara, Pederboni, Ezcay - Ancītis, Romero Soriano.

The wings were the focus of most of Needs's attacks today. The guests almost went up by a goal after 12 minutes when M. Ancītis came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. With 13 minutes played E. Manai almost put the home team one ahead on a cross coming in from the right, but the shot went just wide. This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when B. Pederboni slipped through the defence on the right to come up alone against F. Blösl, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning reflexes. Needs's C. Tomescu got himself booked for a foul. There was concern in the stands when, at the 23 minute mark, Sona's T. Jouve hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Needs took the lead 26 minutes in, as P. Håkansson broke through on the left and put the 1 - 0 shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper. The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but J. Ezcay showed great heart and had a good game. L. Johnson stunned the crowd with a brilliant counterattack from the left, giving Needs the goal to make it 2 - 0. 2 - 0 was the score after the first half. Needs claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 53 percent.

Coming in on the left, M. Ancītis did everything right to get a goal for Sona after 59 minutes, but his finishing shot was stabbed clear by the keeper. Sona breathed new life into the game with an opportunity to reduce the score after 69 minutes, but the home side's defenders cleared the ball on the line, after a long shot coming in from the left rebounded off the crossbar. 73 minutes in, M. Ancītis made an incredible run up the middle and nearly reduced the home side's lead, but F. Blösl refused to let the ball slip by him. Needs put themselves up 3 - 0 when L. Johnson broke through on the right, leaving the entire defence trailing in his wake. After this, you could see that the players of Needs were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. P. Håkansson was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. A. Forsbratt had a couple of good opportunities to reply, but the home team's keeper F. Blösl was simply unbeatable. Needs enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

The most dominating Needs player was without a doubt E. Manai. L. Johnson was a disappointment, however. Sona's top performer was clearly M. Ancītis. On the other hand, V. Biktashev's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 0.