steelmen 0 - 9 StarChild (376459802)

Due to an all-day shower, 8655 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at steelmen Arena. Luigi Maria Bertonazzi was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Thankmar Kuenz and Yonathan Blommaert. steelmen started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. Lineup: Anderson - Knutson, Carvajal, Boada, Colunga - Mallig, Dale, Killin, Hudson - Gomez, Tran.

StarChild decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players took the field: Abi - Ølholm, Roncoroni, Bénier - Matla, Kaira, Haugen, Suchta, Guillaum - Totano, Moisala.

The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but P. Hudson showed great heart and had a good game. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 25 minutes into the match left StarChild's M. Roncoroni completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. H. Matla had a hard time on the waterlogged pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight today. With 32 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed R. Kaira of StarChild to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 2. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave C. Ølholm from StarChild a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 33 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Had it not been for one of the home defenders, S. Totano would have put StarChild up another goal 36 minutes into the match with his audacious lob from the right wing. H. Matla almost seemed to dance around G. Boada, his movements were so smooth. Unfortunately for StarChild, his finish ended up on the wrong side of the post. StarChild increased their lead after 42 minutes when M. Roncoroni broke through on the right, upping the score to 0 - 3, much to the home crowd's dismay. Confident in their lead, StarChild's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. The referee showed steelmen's P. Hudson the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by B. Guillaum. At last, StarChild's M. Suchta was able to backheel the ball in. 0 - 4. 44 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 5 as S. Moisala finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 5. StarChild enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 76 percent of possession.

The home crowd was not impressed when C. Ølholm came in from the right, shooting hard to score after 48 minutes. StarChild were now up 0 - 6. Some fine movement on the left led to a StarChild goal after 71 minutes, making it 0 - 7. S. Moisala was noted down as the scorer. After 72 minutes steelmen's L. Mallig limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. With 73 minutes played, H. Matla nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. A drive down the left side allowed S. Moisala to get in close and score another goal for StarChild after 74 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 8. At that, S. Moisala was noted down for a hat trick! With 78 minutes played, StarChild put themselves up 0 - 9 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was M. Roncoroni. This third goal completed a hattrick for M. Roncoroni. StarChild had most of the ball, with 79 percent of possession.

Most important steelmen player was P. Hudson. E. Anderson was a disappointment, however. StarChild's best player was S. Moisala. However, M. Suchta made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 0 - 9.