Domination 1 - 3 Esponjas (378780045)

209 spectators had found their way to Arena Ebin, despite the heavy rain. Patrick Kehrli was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Frans Sanders and Cezary Bajon. Domination had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. They fielded: de Freitas - Vaudagna, Brügger, Apila, Rzeszotek - Yli-Anttila, Minga, Pavelić, Hynninen - Hellman, Shemer.

Esponjas started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Lourenço - Calado, Dias, Fernandes - Fernandes, Robalo, Ociepka, Borowski, Amaro Pereira - Biffino, Azevedo Costa.

The wings were the focus of most of Esponjas's attacks today. M. Apila, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. Esponjas had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Esponjas's S. Amaro Pereira after 9 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. With 18 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, F. Dias needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. E. Fernandes was having a great game - if anything the pouring rain seemed to be spurring him on! After 30 minutes of play, M. Hellman equalised for Domination after an elegant attack from the right. 38 minutes into the game, F. Dias had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came A. Feliciano. 1 - 1 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Esponjas, with 62 percent of the ball.

E. Fernandes gave the visitors the lead 50 minutes into the match to make it 1 - 2. The goal was scored from the penalty spot after a handball in the penalty area. The referee showed Esponjas's B. Fernandes the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A drive down the left side allowed A. Robalo to get in close and score another goal for Esponjas after 80 minutes, taking the score to 1 - 3. Esponjas claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 60 percent.

Domination's top performer was clearly K. Pavelić. A. Rzeszotek on the other hand, had a terrible day. P. Biffino performed admirably for Esponjas. A. Feliciano turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 3.