Chikens 1 - 5 FUTBOL (364717777)

12000 spectators arrived at New Yersy training Arena, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Stefan Killstål was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Pertti Ylä-Jussila and Arto Tuomela. Chikens started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. They fielded: Bandars - Silciems, Freidenfelds, Gaudiņš, Zvonkov - Strazdiņš, Cirks, Shatkovskiy, Livshin - Busev, Kaziukėnas.

FUTBOL had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Starters: Orlovs - Plostnieks, Rozentāls, Čeksters, Ionchenkov - Shakhnazarov, Bladyko, Popielarczyk, Vigansts - Rozentāls, Lūkins.

The FUTBOL free kick 24 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 E. Vigansts, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 0 - 1! After 29 minutes, FUTBOL's A. Orlovs fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! M. Plostnieks increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 0 - 2. The referee showed Chikens's A. Livshin the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. FUTBOL were forced into a substitution as I. Ionchenkov couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing V. Gerkens to come in off the bench. A. Livshin almost reduced the deficit, having drawn the entire left side defence away, but the shot went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. Halftime score was 0 - 2. FUTBOL claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.

The visitors' V. Gerkens took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 52 minutes into the match. 0 - 3 for FUTBOL. M. Gaudiņš of Chikens was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. After 77 minutes A. Strazdiņš could have reduced the lead with a blistering strike from the left wing, had it not been for an excellent block by the visitors' keeper. O. Shakhnazarov received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 80 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 4. The FUTBOL fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. Chikens refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle, R. Shatkovskiy managed to slip the ball home for 1 - 4. After 83 minutes, FUTBOL's P. Bladyko burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 1 - 5. The players of FUTBOL now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. There was concern in the stands when, at the 85 minute mark, Chikens's V. Busev hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. J. Bandars got a fingertip on P. Bladyko's shot from the left 87 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. FUTBOL had most of the ball, with 63 percent of possession.

Chikens's best player was V. Kaziukėnas. However, J. Bandars made a disastrous appearance. O. Shakhnazarov performed admirably for FUTBOL. On the other hand, A. Orlovs's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 5.