Pepino 3 - 2 Negras (367368767)

22607 spectators had come to Francisco Pil Palace this cloudy day. Ezequiel Perez Fernandez was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Oscar Bulnes and Wasin Maitreepun. Pepino decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Gülergül - Gerzson, Velzunza, Vilela - Villacorta, Salazar, Dingemanse, Słoński, Cereixo - Jaramillo, Lo Iacono.

A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Negras. The following players took the field: Agagliate - Hansson, Bonnaud, Gabor, Ørbæk - Villabol, Grundström, Toscano, Bonome, Epp - Jumeau.

It was an obvious ambition of Negras to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. Slack defending gave Pepino a chance to take the lead with 3 minutes played, but J. Dingemanse's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 10 minutes into the match left Negras's M. Hansson completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. Pepino's G. Lo Iacono put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 1 - 1 with 21 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when J. Toscano was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 28 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! With 29 minutes gone, A. Villacorta suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by Pepino caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. A well placed corner kick from J. Salazar was followed by D. Cereixo's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Pepino, the score now 2 - 1. 2 - 1 was the halftime score. Negras claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 59 percent.

With 58 minutes played, Pepino's L. Gerzson almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. The Negras free kick 59 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 P. Grundström, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 2 - 2! 68 minutes into the match and the home team took a 3 - 2 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for Pepino was S. Velzunza. After 70 minutes, Negras used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. Possession in this half belonged to Negras, who controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.

Most important Pepino player was S. Velzunza. On the other hand, T. Gülergül's play was disheartening. F. Bonome performed admirably for Negras. P. Villabol on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 2.