Merkava 3 - 0 PACKARD (367345007)

Due to an all-day shower, 42512 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Merkava Arena. Petri Äyrälä was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ernestino Montana and Taulant Boja. Merkava tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. Lineup: Quijano - Balboa, Castaneo, Gay - Ameneiro, Campmany, Rivas Barón, Barberà - Tixera, Collel, Romeu.

PACKARD decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Mejstřík - Orzełowski, Strukčinskas, Tovar, den Dikken - Martínez Díaz, Irazábal, Pellejero, Sampedro, Galán - Yumlu.

Pressing was the tactic of the day for PACKARD. J. Romeu spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, Merkava's J. Barberà somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for H. Collel, who struck for 1 - 0. Merkava put themselves up 2 - 0 when J. Romeu broke through on the right, leaving the entire defence trailing in his wake. F. Tovar was having a great game - if anything the pouring rain seemed to be spurring him on! The suddenness of the Merkava's H. Collel's pass to J. Romeu after 34 minutes caught the opposition wrong-footed, and they could only watch as the ball sailed home for 3 - 0. The players of Merkava now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. PACKARD's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. It was 3 - 0 at the break. Merkava enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

V. Ameneiro left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 65 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. S. Alcuña was the replacement. R. Castaneo of Merkava was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. With 81 minutes played, Merkava's J. Barberà almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. Good work by the PACKARD defensive line after 82 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found F. Sampedro alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Merkava, with 56 percent of the ball.

Merkava's best player was F. Quijano. R. Castaneo on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating PACKARD player was without a doubt F. Sampedro. However, D. Galán made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 0.