Eagles 1 - 3 Trotters (374288027)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and The Eagles Nest saw a crowd turnout of 63720. Toni Lindström was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Levi Hilhorst and Henrik Böllen. Eagles started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. Starters: Anifantakis - Jobim, Hendseth, Grim, Renz - Kirwan, Busby, Fagan, Rochford, Brun - Alvarado.

Trotters decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players took the field: Krasuckis - Kernathan, Lappin, Doyle - Magee, Finucane, Crowe, Ryan, Cusack - Mallaghan, Lunn.

Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 22 minutes into the match, and S. Mallaghan wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. After 29 minutes J. Cusack made a speedy advance and dropped the ball to S. Mallaghan who shuffled it past the keeper. The score was now 0 - 2. Eagles's opponents know to be wary of A. Brun's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 38 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! 0 - 2 was the halftime score. Eagles enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

After 51 minutes, Eagles switched B. Kirwan with D. Vivaldo, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. The Eagles players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. Eagles reduced the lead to 1 - 2 with 54 minutes on the clock when D. Vivaldo got the best of a ball floated in from the left. 63 minutes in, Eagles appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only poor. With 64 minutes played, after a good run down the left, D. Vivaldo went down looking for a penalty after a challenge from the visitors' right fullback, but the referee waved play on, and later warned him for diving. A quick counter attack by Trotters forced the opponent's defender to give away a freekick. D. Magee was allowed to take it quickly by the referee, much to the dismay of the goalkeeper who wasn't prepared. 1 - 3! Confident in their lead, Trotters's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. After 67 minutes, Eagles used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. With 84 minutes gone, Trotters 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, M. Ryan did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Trotters, with 56 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Eagles player was without a doubt D. Vivaldo. However, S. Grim made a disastrous appearance. S. Mallaghan performed admirably for Trotters. On the other hand, M. Kernathan's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 3.