Nord-Ost 2 - 0 Olympique (368924752)

12000 punters turned up at Arena Nord- Ost, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Hinnerk Cousin was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Øyvind Kyrkjeeide and Mel Rinnooy Kan. Nord-Ost tactics involved an interesting 4-3-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Mattesini - Grabarczyk, Avrahami, Sliunkovas, Rampone - Polizzi, Kerachev, Järvinen - Micciani, Mahlambeni, Elçibəy.

Olympique decided to use a 3-4-3 set up. The following players took the field: Pascual - Barborinas, Suner, Saidys - Ege, Eicher, Sadik, Rosnati - Nesim, Drożdżyk, Dumontier.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Nord-Ost. Olympique used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. Nord-Ost created a good opportunity to score 8 minutes into the match when L. Micciani's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. With 35 minutes played, G. Polizzi of Nord-Ost fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. With 36 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as A. Rampone flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Olympique claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 56 percent.

Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Olympique's L. Rosnati was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 70 minutes. G. Sammarco was given a chance to change things around. The bench was restless, and with 70 minutes passed Olympique's coach gave G. Pescarmona the opportunity the player had been hoping for. B. Eicher reluctantly left the field. Coming through the middle M. Dumontier almost scored the equaliser for Olympique after 76 minutes, but S. Mattesini made an excellent save, tipping the awkwardly curled shot past the post. A swift counterattack by Nord-Ost resulted in a free kick that L. Micciani elegantly twisted into the goal - 2 - 0! At this point, it was obvious that the players of Nord-Ost lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Olympique had to manage with a reduced squad after 86 minutes, as E. Barborinas got sent off for a needless foul away from the game's action. Nord-Ost were forced into a substitution as L. Micciani couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing P. Groza to come in off the bench. G. Polizzi was the new captain of Nord-Ost - handed the armband by the departing player. Olympique were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. T. Mahlambeni of Nord-Ost was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Possession in this half belonged to Olympique, who controlled the ball 62 percent of the time.

Nord-Ost's top performer was clearly İ. Elçibəy. R. Sliunkovas turned in a dismal performance, however. A. Ege performed admirably for Olympique. On the other hand, M. Pascual's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 0.