draakjes 2 - 3 Martignano (374832858)

Dark skies made the crowd of 13375 at Pataya arena a little nervous, but the rain held off. Hernán Jorge Alifano was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Felipe Garavito and Maurycy Kobierski. A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for draakjes. They fielded: Übelhardt - Eckelaer, Adam, Damen, Stet, Grooteman - Kvaraciejus, Eisemann, Santello, van Scheppingen - Schäferkordt.

Martignano had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: van Gerven - Waaijer, Kruijs, Westinga, Steers - Ordoki, Düppel, Lamdauer, Gavrieli - Alders, Konovalov.

draakjes took a creative approach on the field. Martignano seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. With 21 minutes gone, draakjes 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, S. Eckelaer did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. 32 minutes in, the referee awarded draakjes a penalty. A. Eisemann coolly slotted it home for a 1 - 0 lead. Martignano players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. The visitors didn't give in and, after 37 minutes, J. Alders got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 1 - 1. Against a lesser team, Martignano could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 38 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, draakjes's J. van Scheppingen somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for O. Schäferkordt, who struck for 2 - 1. Always quick on his feet, draakjes's A. Kvaraciejus sped down the field after 42 minutes, but his pass to O. Schäferkordt was just a bit too far ahead for him to get a good shot off. Martignano tied it all up, 43 minutes in, after a spectacular goal by T. Konovalov, who miraculously broke through the home side's central defence, making it 2 - 2. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 2. Martignano had most of the ball, with 62 percent of possession.

After 76 minutes, Martignano's P. Westinga fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! Martignano took the lead after 78 minutes making the score 2 - 3. W. Waaijer placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 82 minutes, Martignano tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. N. Übelhardt kept the home side in the game with a magnificent save when A. Gavrieli delivered an almost perfect free kick to the far post. Martignano enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 63 percent of possession.

Most important draakjes player was T. Damen. E. Santello was a disappointment, however. Martignano's best player was M. Kruijs. However, P. Westinga made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 3.