ALNIDA 1 - 2 Pinatubas (368166368)

Due to an all-day shower, 59139 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Death Tample. Thodoros Lempesis was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Robert Eesmaa and Xamín Baquio. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for ALNIDA. Lineup: Mæland - Mandel, Louvet, Zapata - Bolla, Zangi, Drago, Lanzarini, Buddaci - Riveros, Mineiro.

Pinatubas had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Niţu - Gómez, Marques, Vídeňský - Garmendia, Fleck, Slobozeanu, Hageböck, Esiason - Sušić, Tormettino.

Pinatubas were determined to use their long shot ability. It might be a while before the fans see ALNIDA's J. Zapata again, after he had to leave the field in great distress at the 34 minute mark. He was replaced by L. Durītis. Y. Mineiro was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. P. Esiason did not have a good day today, often losing his footing on the muddy pitch. After 42 minutes, Pinatubas put themselves up 0 - 1, as P. Esiason finished off a strike from the left with a real cannonball of a shot. After 43 minutes Pinatubas showed some great patience outside the penalty area, waiting until E. Slobozeanu could find the right opportunity to finish off the attack from distance. The long shot, however, was an easy catch for J. Mæland. L. Bolla of ALNIDA was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 1. ALNIDA had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

Due to some great work on the right wing ALNIDA's Y. Mineiro was able to even the score after 49 minutes to make the score 1 - 1. Y. Mineiro would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. P. Clemêncio entered the game for ALNIDA as the match clock showed 65 minutes. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave G. Drago from ALNIDA a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 80 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! E. Slobozeanu was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so Pinatubas's D. Marc had to come off the bench. R. Niţu was the new captain of Pinatubas - handed the armband by the departing player. J. Hageböck of Pinatubas seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 1 - 2 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by A. Gómez. The referee showed ALNIDA's C. Lanzarini the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. ALNIDA claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 56 percent.

ALNIDA's best player was P. Clemêncio. D. Buddaci was a disappointment, however. Most important Pinatubas player was A. Tormettino. On the other hand, C. Garmendia's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 2.