Lonttinen 2 - 2 HotStreak (369403952)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 87812 at Zoo Full of Lions today. Tozé Canha was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Agostino Tesi and Ignacio Sastre Miralles. Lonttinen decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players took the field: Ruiz Moreno - Rayner, Hornemann, Zaniolo - Dávid, Volchkov, Shamai, Pinoniemi, Yovev - Streit, Martinsson.

A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for HotStreak. The following players had been chosen: Arce - Matei, Cipollone, Fraire, Mpachramis, Leclerc - Bilon, Ahonzo, Lehtinen - Badea, Woringer.

It was an obvious ambition of Lonttinen to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of HotStreak. G. Woringer was in the clear after breaking the offside trap following a HotStreak counterattack from the left after 33 minutes. His neat finish made the score 0 - 1. With 35 minutes played, Lonttinen's M. Rayner found an opening in the visitors' left side defence, but his shot was handled easily by the keeper. There was concern in the stands when, at the 43 minute mark, HotStreak's J. Ahonzo hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. 0 - 1 was the halftime score. Lonttinen claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 77 percent.

G. Zaniolo of Lonttinen seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 1 - 1 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by R. Streit. G. Woringer knocked one home from a counterattack down the right wing, making the score 1 - 2 after 57 minutes. As the game started to slip away for Lonttinen, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. The Lonttinen coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. With 68 minutes played, the Lonttinen coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. D. Bullin came on, R. Dávid had to leave the fray. The crowd was on its feet 73 minutes into the match, as Lonttinen's K. Yovev found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 2 - 2 equaliser. G. Zaniolo neatly controlled the ball after a short corner, and knocked it on to R. Volchkov who had the whole net open before him, but only managed to hit the post. 78 minutes had elapsed when a great chance for Lonttinen to take the lead after a good cross from the right found D. Bullin alone with the keeper, but he chipped it to the wrong side of the post. HotStreak's counterattacks created a good chance for A. Badea on the right after 79 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Lonttinen, with 76 percent of the ball.

Lonttinen's top performer was clearly A. Ruiz Moreno. D. Bullin was a disappointment, however. HotStreak's best player was G. Woringer. However, G. Fraire made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 2.