BPU 2 - 2 Olympique (370392758)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Pythons Arena saw a crowd turnout of 25914. Paulo Raphael was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jędrek Zapolski and Gino Caldara. BPU started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Vähäkangas - Podlaski, Jagerman, Eckholt - Jonsson, Keudell, Khrisanov, Alexandrov, Saa - Bonvalot, Albecki.

A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Olympique. The following players had been chosen: Jaksch - Luostarinen, Bustamante - Sangsom, Tselempis, Savary, Steger, Mejer - Hugon, Hopland, Kattenberg.

Today, BPU's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Down the middle came E. Hopland, making a fantastic play that nearly had Olympique take the lead after 7 minutes, but P. Vähäkangas preserved the tie. W. Podlaski received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 20 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. 21 minutes into the game, P. Sangsom had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came D. Villeroy. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 37 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from B. Albecki, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. BPU's B. Albecki was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 38 minutes. N. Bonvalot had a fantastic opportunity to put BPU up another goal 41 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. After 42 minutes BPU's M. Jonsson limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. The visitors were awarded a penalty by the referee 43 minutes into the match, much to the anger of the home crowd. E. Luostarinen took advantage of the situation and scored to make it 1 - 1. 1 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by BPU, with 54 percent of the ball.

With 51 minutes gone, BPU had a free kick in a decent position. Despite this being a great chance for a shot, they tried a cheeky move intended to bypass the defence. However, T. Alexandrov did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. With 55 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 2 - 1 lead as N. Bonvalot flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. BPU's M. Jonsson had a good first touch on the flank, but was crowded and, after a change of plan, sent the ball to B. Albecki who somehow managed to curl the ball wide. The home team will be cursing G. Hugon for weeks; he finished off a great pass from the left, knocking it past the keeper without a problem. The match was level at 2 - 2 after 70 minutes. BPU enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

BPU's top performer was clearly C. Keudell. P. Vähäkangas turned in a dismal performance, however. Olympique's best player was P. Steger. On the other hand, D. Villeroy's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 2.