HERCULES 1 - 3 pinpines (367712899)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and REAL HERCULES F.C. Arena saw a crowd turnout of 1521. Erik Tuvstedt was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rafinha Longo and Miquel Garcia. HERCULES decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. Lineup: Aunes - Ureña, Corono, Reyna, Castañera - Pérez Mazo, Orcajada, Estellés, Ayelo - Cubo, Beneyto.

A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for pinpines. Starters: Sanllehí - Cruxeira, Zuricaray, Pinedo, Álvarez Miguel, Frontín - Garza, da Debesa, Oumghar, Alcañiz - de Luelmo.

pinpines were relying on their ability to counter-attack. A. Castañera's lack of experience almost gave pinpines a goal after 12 minutes, but the shot went right into the keeper's arms. HERCULES took the lead after 13 minutes as a result of M. Pérez Mazo's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 1 - 0. 22 minutes into the game pinpines's C. Oumghar found a gap in the home side's central defence and scored with a fabulous shot, making it 1 - 1. After 29 minutes, a well-worked counterattack by pinpines on the right presented an easy opportunity in front of the goal that was duly converted by X. Cruxeira to make it 1 - 2. M. de Luelmo 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 R. Aunes but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 2. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

With 47 minutes played, pinpines put themselves up 1 - 3 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was M. de Luelmo. pinpines's C. Pinedo got himself booked for a foul. HERCULES had a brilliant opportunity to reply as P. Reyna received a high ball from the right, striking the ball in the air. Only D. Sanllehí's reflexes saved him. After 70 minutes, X. Beneyto had a good opportunity to reduce the scoreline for HERCULES with a chance created through the middle, but wasn't cool enough. The ball went miles over the bar. 77 minutes in, HERCULES's J. Orcajada received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A loud groan was heard from the fans of pinpines, as E. da Debesa left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. A. Ferrán Martínez took his place on the field. After 79 minutes X. Beneyto could have reduced the lead with a blistering strike from the left wing, had it not been for an excellent block by the visitors' keeper. HERCULES claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

The most dominating HERCULES player was without a doubt R. Cubo. On the other hand, R. Aunes's play was disheartening. Most important pinpines player was M. de Luelmo. D. Sanllehí was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 3.