Markka 0 - 1 Vihnuslake (377280873)

Due to an all-day shower, 34005 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Coins Stadium. Inodoro Vitale was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Niklaus Reinhold and Rosch Kruchten. Markka tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. Starters: Rauberger - Hajzer, Eisenschenk, Todić - Kramsu, Hufschmid, Singh, Oriol - Pacheco, Picot, Sandvik.

A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Vihnuslake. The following players took the field: Dahlgren - Kaistinen, Coens, Thilman - Díaz, Jegat, Hyllested, Santanen - Veijalainen, Purtonen, Tenhovaara.

The guests almost went up by a goal after 2 minutes when L. Coens came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. C. Picot slipped and slithered in the wet grass. His usual rapid runs were nowhere to be seen today. 16 minutes into the game, C. Díaz almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. Vihnuslake's S. Dahlgren had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 31 minutes having been played. P. Spitsõn was the replacement. Down the middle came S. Kaistinen, making a fantastic play that nearly had Vihnuslake take the lead after 32 minutes, but J. Rauberger preserved the tie. 37 minutes into the game, B. Oriol had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came J. Kesti. The rain made it hard for players like A. Tenhovaara to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. It was 0 - 0 at the break. Vihnuslake had most of the ball, with 58 percent of possession.

Vihnuslake had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 49 minutes in when A. Purtonen came up alone against J. Rauberger who managed a block. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by J. Santanen. At last, Vihnuslake's K. Hyllested was able to backheel the ball in. 0 - 1. There was concern in the stands when, at the 77 minute mark, Markka's S. Singh hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. With 81 minutes played, S. Kaistinen 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. Markka's counterattacks created a good chance for A. Pacheco on the right after 82 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. 85 minutes into the game, Vihnuslake worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Vihnuslake, with 62 percent of the ball.

Most important Markka player was L. Eisenschenk. J. Kesti turned in a dismal performance, however. T. Veijalainen performed admirably for Vihnuslake. P. Spitsõn was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 1.