hucktrick 3 - 3 Rockingham (374449290)

Dark skies made the crowd of 61995 at dh6 arena a little nervous, but the rain held off. Vladimir Vitrih was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ayberk Tarim and Áron Csernus. hucktrick decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players had been chosen: Must - Harper, Hawle, Jackson, Farquharson - Niesten, Aste, Petuchovas, Avery, Lane - Trombetti.

A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Rockingham. Starters: Isakov - Laftsis, Nevin, Valdivieso, Thomas - Sjouwerman, Frederic, Schlicht, Chance, Grant - Zubizarreta.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Rockingham. 3 minutes in, the referee awarded hucktrick a penalty. G. Aste coolly slotted it home for a 1 - 0 lead. hucktrick nearly produced a goal as J. Lane set up F. Niesten for a strike from a seemingly impossible angle. However he put the shot narrowly wide. A cross coming in on the right hand side left I. Laftsis alone in front of the goal after 30 minutes but his shot was woeful. Good work by the hucktrick defensive line after 31 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found M. Trombetti alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. With the clock showing 34 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Rockingham resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by R. Chance in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. Rockingham were given a free kick 38 minutes into the game, just after a swift counter attack broke down. Rather than shooting straight at goal, it was directed at the area just in front of the keeper. The attackers made several runs and made it hard for the defenders to protect their goal. After a short tussle with a defender, I. Laftsis could finally lay the ball to rest behind the keeper. 1 - 1, and proof it can pay off to come prepared. The referee showed hucktrick's V. Petuchovas the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. C. Schlicht had a good opportunity to give Rockingham the lead as he charged down the right and struck the ball towards the top corner, but the home team's goalkeeper made the save. 1 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to hucktrick, who controlled the ball 59 percent of the time.

A well placed corner kick from J. Valdivieso was followed by C. Schlicht's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Rockingham, the score now 1 - 2. The hucktrick coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. After 60 minutes, hucktrick switched M. Trombetti with M. Naumann, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. With 60 minutes played, the hucktrick coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. L. Polito came on, F. Niesten had to leave the fray. K. Grant left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 70 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. J. Halmetschlager was the replacement. The crowd gasped as E. Harper of hucktrick was flattened by an opponent after 74 minutes and had to be carried off. M. Brennan came in off the bench. 79 minutes into the game, Rockingham worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. 80 minutes into the match, hucktrick's G. Aste maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 2 - 2. hucktrick had a good opportunity to take the lead as R. Jackson came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of E. Isakov. After 83 minutes, a well-worked counterattack by Rockingham on the right presented an easy opportunity in front of the goal that was duly converted by N. Nevin to make it 2 - 3. A foul 85 minutes into the game resulted in a free kick for hucktrick. G. Aste took advantage as he curled the equalising goal into the top corner, just out of the reach of the keeper. 3 - 3. At that, G. Aste was noted down for a hat trick! 88 minutes into the game, Rockingham wanted to bring some new energy to their game. E. Isakov gave F. Del Pozo a quick hug as he left the field. As the 89 minute mark approached, the Rockingham coach decided it was time for a substitution. N. Nevin reluctantly made way for A. Cuadros on the pitch. hucktrick enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 61 percent of possession.

The most dominating hucktrick player was without a doubt J. Lane. M. Brennan was a disappointment, however. Rockingham's top performer was clearly C. Zubizarreta. J. Valdivieso on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 3.