Blindschleichen 0 - 0 Tussi (353495498)

Dark skies made the crowd of 13210 at Schleich Arena a little nervous, but the rain held off. Mattias Robertsson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Themis Thomaidis and Federico Rovetta. Blindschleichen started off with a 5-2-3 lineup. They fielded: Stanzani - Iñiguez Lafuente, Haberkern, Sambugaro, Hirte, Voshchinin - Segale, Kolwitz - Wijmans, Slatner, Breukers.

Tussi tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Marača - Rowohlt, Thoma, Soddu - Stobrawe, Spitz, Brka, Fasquelle - Schütz, Gündoğan, Rønneberg.

It seemed as though Tussi considered the game won before even taking the field, which resulted in a very uninspired start to the game. Blindschleichen were relying on their ability to counter-attack. U. Stanzani looked great 18 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' H. Rowohlt. 21 minutes into the game, Tussi had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to weak. With 29 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Blindschleichen resulted in a counterattack that set V. Voshchinin free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. A free kick aimed at the keeper's far post almost gave Tussi the lead 35 minutes in, but the ball just wasn't able to squirm its way through the defensive wall. After 36 minutes, the defensive line of Blindschleichen created a counterattack through the middle that gave V. Slatner a good look at the goal, but his shot glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. It was 0 - 0 at the break. Tussi had most of the ball, with 74 percent of possession.

Tussi had clearly expected an easier match. With the result still undecided as the second half started, there was a marked improvement in attitude - although the coach had clearly hoped for more. Despite his frustration resulting in the smashing of a few teacups, the coach of Tussi was able to get his message across, and raised Tussi's organisation to passable. The guests almost went up by a goal after 57 minutes when S. Fasquelle came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. Coming in from the right, Blindschleichen had a good opportunity to convert on a counterattack after 58 minutes, but V. Voshchinin's attempt to finish was easily stopped. Tussi's S. Fasquelle had seen it all before, so he waited patiently for the right opportunity. He would get no better chance than the one he took, but his shot was deftly blocked by the keeper. With 81 minutes gone, P. Haberkern suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by Blindschleichen caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. Tussi had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 83 minutes in when B. Schütz came up alone against U. Stanzani who managed a block. Tussi claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 77 percent.

Most important Blindschleichen player was V. Slatner. V. Segale on the other hand, had a terrible day. J. Spitz performed admirably for Tussi. On the other hand, M. Marača's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 0.