pirakis 1 - 7 MANS0N (367532689)

9908 spectators had found their way to pirakis C.F Arena, despite the heavy rain. Sijmen Boll was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rudolph Eisebraun and Aimé Laffaille. pirakis decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. The following players took the field: Tornero - Ortueta, Mineiro, Shaw, Lauria - Fisteus, Dufour, Rikeit, Lafuente Manso de Zúñiga - Schachner, Irazabalbeaskoa.

A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for MANS0N. Lineup: Svarstad - Kraševic, Bruce, Araluce - Rubinke, Buga, Nordeck, Esquerrer - Fonseca, Vianu, Lafranconi.

The strategy for pirakis was to use their ability to press. One of many good crosses from R. Esquerrer on the wing was received and skillfully taken care of by O. Vianu, who scored for MANS0N. 0 - 1 7 minutes into the game a free kick by O. Vianu found its way through the home side's poorly assembled defensive formation, making MANS0N's lead 0 - 2. R. Buga hit the corner kick straight to the keeper, but it was mishandled, giving MANS0N's J. Araluce an easy chance to knock it in for 0 - 3. After this, you could see that the players of MANS0N were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. An amazing free kick flew past the home keeper 27 minutes into the match, putting MANS0N ahead 0 - 4. O. Vianu was the scorer. By then O. Vianu had scored three goals - a hat trick! MANS0N increased the lead to 0 - 5 as O. Vianu scored from the penalty spot, putting the ball in near the top left corner. R. Buga came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over J. Tornero but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. MANS0N's G. Svarstad left the field after 33 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was P. Llera. It was 0 - 5 at the break. MANS0N enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 60 percent of possession.

The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but R. Esquerrer showed great heart and had a good game. R. Buga of MANS0N took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 56 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 0 - 6. With 59 minutes played, R. Buga nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. J. Araluce wanted to play on, but the MANS0N coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 60 minutes into the game by N. Babo. I. Bruce was handed the MANS0N captain's armband. Content with how the game was proceeding, the MANS0N coach let A. Pérez Cruz replace O. Vianu after 65 minutes. pirakis refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle, M. Rikeit managed to slip the ball home for 1 - 6. The home crowd cheered when, after 69 minutes, N. Babo's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. After 77 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for N. Babo who increased MANS0N's lead to 1 - 7. MANS0N claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 64 percent.

pirakis's best player was M. Rikeit. On the other hand, B. Schachner's play was disheartening. Most important MANS0N player was T. Lafranconi. P. Llera turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 7.