helios 2 - 1 Giardina (378482386)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 1908 had shown up at Weiland for the match. Flurin Bethke was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Simon Gregory and Juan José Anguita. A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for helios. The following players had been chosen: Starreveld - Zengers, Schovers, Aarden, van der Woude, van Helden - Thomas, van der Krogt, Morais - Arvanitis, Camarena.

Giardina tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. They fielded: Pergolini - Frosio, Merivot - Malerbi, Cassarà, Vittorioso, Castiglia, Comina - Arcolin, Caprarelli, Pintore.

For their match strategy, helios had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Against a lesser team, helios could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 2 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. V. Merivot would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. J. Jaroma entered the game for Giardina as the match clock showed 20 minutes. The Giardina captaincy was handed to C. Cassarà. As the 27 minute mark approached, the Giardina coach decided it was time for a substitution. Z. Caprarelli reluctantly made way for Q. Ceneda on the pitch. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 30 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from F. Zengers, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. After 32 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Giardina found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to inadequate. The visitors refused to give in and, after 33 minutes, G. Comina evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 1 - 1 36 minutes in, Giardina appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only weak. helios were very close to putting themselves one up after 37 minutes as L. Arvanitis got through on the left, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. M. Frosio of Giardina received a yellow card after 38 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. helios will have to do without M. Morais for a time, due to a bad foot injury at the 39 minute mark. He was substituted by P. Bes. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. helios enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 71 percent of possession.

During the break, Giardina's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. After 48 minutes, the Giardina coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving D. Pintore off the field. H. Mzyk took his place. Many thought M. Camarena ought to have been awarded a penalty 50 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around V. Pergolini after a determined run through the middle. The referee showed helios's F. Zengers the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Giardina's G. Comina had to leave the pitch and there were no more available substitutions! 54 minutes into the game, Giardina seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. H. van der Krogt could have put helios into the lead after 58 minutes, but the free kick went just wide. A foul after 72 minutes resulted in a free kick. H. van der Krogt cannonballed it, giving the home team the lead 2 - 1. 77 minutes into the game, Giardina seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a inadequate level of organisation. helios had most of the ball, with 69 percent of possession.

M. Camarena performed admirably for helios. D. Aarden turned in a dismal performance, however. Giardina's best player was H. Mzyk. C. Cassarà was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 1.