Merengues 4 - 0 Dradons (378729083)

Clear skies welcomed the 362 spectators who had made their way to Spinetti. Vladeta Bačković was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rein van Bommel and Goran Smit. Merengues started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Páger - Baierle, Monteiro, Innsbruck - Muniagurria, Sutanto, Peralta, Demiri, Feldmanis - Mandiola, Trippetta.

Dradons decided to use a 5-3-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Sandri - Grossemy, Van den Buverie, Szaszovszky, Magrí, Poznić - Mejani, Jansson, Catalano - Mendes, Bulletti.

The wings were the focus of most of Merengues's attacks today. Today, Dradons's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Merengues took the lead 5 minutes in, as L. Mandiola broke through on the left and put the 1 - 0 shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper. 22 minutes in, Dradons appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only solid. G. Casotto was called on to replace Merengues's M. Muniagurria after 34 minutes following a nasty collision. It was obvious that Merengues had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. Merengues's M. Trippetta had an excellent opportunity after 41 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! Players in Dradons heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. Things were deteriorating for the away team as Merengues scored another to make it 2 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for A. Feldmanis after 43 minutes. 44 minutes into the game, Dradons seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a inadequate level of organisation. Cheers filled the stadium as S. Peralta broke through the visitors' central defence to put away the ball to increase the lead to 3 - 0 to Merengues. 44 minutes into the game, J. Van den Buverie had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came E. Véber. A. Feldmanis's early cross saw the defenders caught out of position and the alert L. Mandiola was able to pounce and roll the ball past the hapless goalkeeper to score for Merengues. 4 - 0. Confident in their lead, Merengues's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. The teams went for the halftime break at 4 - 0. Merengues claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 64 percent.

During the break, Dradons's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. Dradons needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 46 minutes D. Mendes made way for B. Weldam. The bench was restless, and with 46 minutes passed Dradons's coach gave V. Kaska the opportunity the player had been hoping for. T. Jansson reluctantly left the field. Dradons's J. Poznić got himself booked for a foul. With the clock showing 83 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Dradons resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by J. Poznić in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. Merengues had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

Merengues's top performer was clearly A. Feldmanis. D. Demiri turned in a dismal performance, however. Most important Dradons player was L. Mejani. E. Véber on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 0.