stalkers 0 - 7 Dragons (371419094)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 10318 to Sunset Boulevard. stalkers tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Priddis - Whitfield, Stanton, McDougall, Ndiaye - Fitzpatrick, Hollingsworth, Te Rapopo, Wight - Treister, Marinunggo.

Dragons started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. Lineup: da Vila - Zanev, Gambrill, Komorowski, Diniz, Abitbol - Wensink, Đức Minh, Saygın - Waldring, Mutumui.

For their match strategy, Dragons had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. G. Whitfield's technique was perfect on this sunny day and led to some breathtaking tricks that bamboozled the defence. Dragons's S. Komorowski could have put the guests one up after 27 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but I. Priddis was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. G. Wensink of Dragons received a yellow card after 38 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Given a free kick close to the byline, Dragons tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let S. Komorowski slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 0 - 1, 39 minutes into the game. stalkers had to make a substitution after 40 minutes. S. McDougall limped off the field and was replaced by N. Bailleres. The visitors' G. Wensink took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 44 minutes into the match. 0 - 2 for Dragons. By now, the players in Dragons felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. 0 - 2 was the halftime score. Dragons claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 65 percent.

S. Komorowski increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 0 - 3. After 52 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave E. Waldring a chance to increase the lead for Dragons, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 4. Dragons's H. Saygın was shown a yellow card after 54 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Due to a severely mistimed tackle, N. Bailleres of stalkers spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. With 60 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed F. Mutumui of Dragons to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 5. After 61 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed S. Komorowski to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 6. That made three goals for S. Komorowski and he was marked down for the hat trick. In the 63 minute, Dragons were awarded a free kick as their counter attack dried up. The ball was sent in high over the penalty box and, in what looked like a well-rehearsed move, it was headed backwards to reach F. Mutumui, who placed it into the net with a single touch. 0 - 7. stalkers's R. Ndiaye had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 65 minutes having been played. L. Seubert was the replacement. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Dragons, with 68 percent of the ball.

The most dominating stalkers player was without a doubt C. Marinunggo. I. Priddis turned in a dismal performance, however. Dragons's top performer was clearly G. Wensink. On the other hand, H. Saygın's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 7.