Gunners 5 - 4 FROG (378184304)

Dark skies made the crowd of 1065 at Na Litavce a little nervous, but the rain held off. Michał Durlej was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Bãdunã Chiscã and Raúl de la Mata. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Gunners. Lineup: Nistor - Quevedo, Lőwy - Sáinz Diez, Aarinen, Tzonev, Naiman, Haist - Christensen, Picca, Smrťka.

FROG had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. Starters: Strąk - Gismondi, Sélva - Cappelli, Cargiolli, Plaza Ruiz, Frinta, Schorpion - Hempenius, Neckař, Farkač.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for FROG. Given a free kick close to the byline, FROG tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let O. Farkač slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 0 - 1, 13 minutes into the game. After 27 minutes, A. Haist sent the corner kick right to P. Lőwy who headed it sharply past the keeper. 1 - 1! FROG took the lead after 36 minutes making the score 1 - 2. J. Neckař placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. After 37 minutes, FROG's S. Cappelli fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! With 38 minutes played, after a good run down the left, K. Picca 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. Gunners's E. Quevedo made a successful breakthrough on the left after 39 minutes and should have levelled the score, but instead he clipped it over the bar. After 41 minutes of play, P. Lőwy equalised for Gunners after an elegant attack from the right. 42 minutes in, Gunners's V. Tzonev received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. P. Gismondi's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for FROG, he bravely continued in the match. 2 - 3 was the score with 44 minutes played, after S. Cappelli cut through the central defence and chipped home a goal for FROG. Halftime score was 2 - 3. Neither team was controlling the possession at this point in the match, with the stats showing a 50:50 split.

After 52 minutes, Gunners switched S. Christensen with J. Hühner, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Gunners's V. Aarinen was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 53 minutes. L. Durko was given a chance to change things around. With 66 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, D. Frinta needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. J. Neckař received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 70 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 2 - 4. The FROG fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. Gunners didn't give in and with 71 minutes played K. Picca was able to make the score 3 - 4 after an attack on the right. The referee showed FROG's W. Hempenius the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The player down was L. Durko. The Gunners bench looked worried for a while, but in the end he managed to get up. Following a foul after 80 minutes, Gunners got themselves a free kick just outside the penalty area. A. Haist levelled the scoreline - 4 - 4. Gunners broke through on the left 82 minutes into the game, with E. Quevedo firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 5 - 4 lead. An equalising goal seemed certain after 83 minutes when O. Farkač attacked down the left wing, but S. Nistor just managed to make a save to keep the ball out of the net. Gunners enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 60 percent of possession.

Gunners's best player was J. Hühner. However, K. Picca made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating FROG player was without a doubt O. Farkač. G. Strąk was a disappointment, however. The match ends 5 - 4.