Paltana 2 - 1 Eldritch (365995081)

Clouds darkened the skies at Bergamin Arena as 45695 spectators turned up for the match. Ruedi Gast was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Hyman Young and Lars-Åke Martinsson. Paltana tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players took the field: Gouveia - Borgerink, Bilotta, Gancedo - Kırdağ, Brusasco, Fontanarosa, Zoff, Manique - Pinsino, Kindin.

Eldritch started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Illiano - Rose, Fontecha, Catoni - Bay, Alegre, Gigler, Mugnai, Dimartino - Lacourt, Repo.

S. Manique gave Paltana the lead with a beautiful free kick after 3 minutes. 1 - 0! S. Gigler of Eldritch received a yellow card after 35 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Paltana enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 60 percent of possession.

With 47 minutes played, Paltana put themselves up 2 - 0 when the visiting defenders lost the ball to U. Kindin, who came up from the left and proceeded to coolly round the keeper and knock the ball home. Confident in their lead, Paltana's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. A free kick just outside of the visitors' penalty area after 51 minutes could have resulted in another goal, but A. Illiano got a hand out and tipped the ball over the bar. Eldritch needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 55 minutes R. Rose made way for T. Bohbratt. J. Fontecha was the new captain of Eldritch - handed the armband by the departing player. After 61 minutes, a deliberate handball from Eldritch's S. Gigler was judged to be his second bookable offence, and he was sent off. J. Fontecha sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from A. Catoni after 67 minutes of play, making the score 2 - 1. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave E. Gancedo from Paltana a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 74 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! J. Fontecha's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Eldritch, he bravely continued in the match. Paltana claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 64 percent.

Paltana's best player was F. Pinsino. On the other hand, T. Gouveia's play was disheartening. Most important Eldritch player was R. Lacourt. T. Bohbratt on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 1.