Bondi 1 - 2 Cotchin (371393773)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 95486 to Luigi Vannucchi ★. William Roux was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rafael De Mol and Jonathan van Oss. Bondi tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Åhlen - Murugesan, Ankcorn, Mankila - Sozański, Lizotte, Garstin, bin Hj Husain, Gondor - Appia, Tort.

A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Cotchin. They fielded: Umar - Bökenbarg, Esterripa, Stehrenberger - Russo, Madigan, Little, Ripoll - Lie, Mülldorf, Puig Leal.

2 minutes into the game, Bondi wanted to bring some new energy to their game. W. Garstin gave H. Ustaze a quick hug as he left the field. The referee showed Cotchin's J. Bökenbarg the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Several players seemed a little dazed by the warm weather, and were repeatedly tricked by the clever and agile R. Lie. After some beautiful movement down the left wing, J. Tort scored for Bondi putting them ahead 1 - 0, after 27 minutes. Cotchin levelled the score after 34 minutes to make it 1 - 1, as I. Stehrenberger struck home after a fine midfield combination through the centre, which left him completely unmarked. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. Bondi had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Cotchin's J. Esterripa after 48 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 1 - 2 lead. Unhappy with the result so far in the game, the Bondi manager used a brief break in play after 52 minutes to give the players new directives. 57 minutes into the game, L. Appia came close to levelling the score with a dangerous shot from the centre of the area that went just over the bar. The bench was restless, and with 63 minutes passed Bondi's coach gave B. Cabral the opportunity the player had been hoping for. P. Mankila reluctantly left the field. The Cotchin players could smell victory in the air. J. Esterripa wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for M. Osmond after 65 minutes. The Bondi players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. K. Mülldorf wanted to play on, but the Cotchin coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 70 minutes into the game by E. Russell. After a short break after 71 minutes, Cotchin seemed to change their tactical approach a bit. 71 minutes in, Bondi's H. Ustaze received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. With 72 minutes played, Bondi's T. Gondor found an opening in the visitors' left side defence, but his shot was handled easily by the keeper. Possession in this half belonged to Bondi, who controlled the ball 56 percent of the time.

The most dominating Bondi player was without a doubt L. Appia. On the other hand, L. Åhlen's play was disheartening. R. Lie performed admirably for Cotchin. However, E. Russell made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 2.