MT80 0 - 3 AlmavivA (366272474)

18648 fans braved the pouring rain at Mett Arena. Baptiste Haye was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Tjaard Lindhout and Ethan Paulsen. MT80 tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Henderson - Chimischwilli, Krapauskis, Kossack - Brighenti, Pejchal, Matarangolo, Campo, Villano - Schrom, Urso.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for AlmavivA. Lineup: Palii - Pescetto, Cordera, Iluz - Stocco, Padula, Deturres, Valat, Defla - Starostka, Loistl.

The strategy for MT80 was to use their ability to press. Thighs bulging, M. Pescetto charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. MT80's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. Many thought G. Kossack ought to have been awarded a penalty 28 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around V. Palii after a determined run through the middle. MT80's G. Kossack left the field after 29 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was R. Riesen. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 32 minutes allowed F. Starostka to score for AlmavivA. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1. J. Iluz received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 33 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 2. The AlmavivA fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. Halftime score was 0 - 2. AlmavivA claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 61 percent.

Some fine movement on the left led to a AlmavivA goal after 53 minutes, making it 0 - 3. F. Deturres was noted down as the scorer. Confident in their lead, AlmavivA's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. Content with how the game was proceeding, the AlmavivA coach let I. Pais replace F. Starostka after 55 minutes. It was almost a goal for AlmavivA following P. Valat's good header after a corner, it went just over the bar though. MT80 pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, G. Villano got himself booked. The manager of MT80 was not happy. MT80's G. Krapauskis was shown a yellow card after 77 minutes for slicing down an opponent. After 80 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by MT80 was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options. MT80's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends. AlmavivA enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 61 percent of possession.

MT80's top performer was clearly H. Schrom. On the other hand, A. Chimischwilli's play was disheartening. AlmavivA's best player was D. Padula. However, H. Cordera made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 0 - 3.