ARDEA 4 - 3 Taky (378983651)

3557 spectators arrived at Airone, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Mika Posti was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Moisés Figo and Manuel de Mingo. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for ARDEA. Starters: Sansi - Bartoszewicz, Barata Pereira, Perosa - Olivar, Kirchgasser, Nicolau, Rossetti, Jiménez - Zachariassen, Głowala.

Taky decided to use a 5-4-1 set up. The following players took the field: Ernte - Jáksó, Lindvall, Chaldoupis, Avazoglou, Gasch - Tiefenbach, Kis, Demeter, Merza - Fábián.

For their match strategy, Taky had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. L. Rossetti caused the crowd to go mental with his goal up the middle after 6 minutes. This gave ARDEA the 1 - 0 lead. ARDEA's P. Bartoszewicz was shown a yellow card after 31 minutes for slicing down an opponent. A free kick just outside of the visitors' penalty area after 32 minutes could have resulted in another goal, but B. Ernte got a hand out and tipped the ball over the bar. 1 - 0 was the halftime score. ARDEA had most of the ball, with 89 percent of possession.

P. Bartoszewicz wanted to play on, but the ARDEA coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 46 minutes into the game by A. Artioli. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by J. Jiménez. At last, ARDEA's D. Głowala was able to backheel the ball in. 2 - 0. Confident in their lead, ARDEA's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. A great save by keeper B. Ernte after 59 minutes kept the visitors in the game after H. Zachariassen struck from the left with a real cannonball. The ARDEA players could smell victory in the air. F. Kirchgasser wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for L. Ibros after 60 minutes. After 60 minutes, Taky surprised their opponents with a breakaway counter attack. The defenders had to resort to a foul to stop it. The free kick that followed was a clever indirect effort that almost succeeded, but the defence read the situation well and the intended recipient was left ruing what might have been. M. Barata Pereira unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. Taky almost scored after a counterattack 69 minutes into the match, but K. Demeter took a shot from the left that landed harmlessly in the side of the net. Content with how the game was proceeding, the ARDEA coach let A. Tambor replace M. Barata Pereira after 70 minutes. After 85 minutes, L. Rossetti made a complete fool of himself when he presented the ball to the feet of T. Tiefenbach who smashed it into the open goal for Taky. 2 - 1. Coming from the right, A. Artioli almost managed to score another goal for ARDEA, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. The home side's J. Jiménez came close to extending the lead 87 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but B. Ernte managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. The counterattack by Taky resulted in a free kick that T. Tiefenbach bent under the crossbar - 2 - 2! ARDEA claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 91 percent.

As neither team was able to break the deadlock before the end of regular play, the teams took to the field again for extra time. Making his way up the middle 95 minutes into the match, J. Jiménez almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert B. Ernte blocked it to keep the score level. Taky's T. Tiefenbach was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 96 minutes. With the clock showing 104 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Taky resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by G. Fábián in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. Taky had to manage with a reduced squad after 107 minutes, as J. Gasch got sent off for a needless foul away from the game's action. Due to a severely mistimed tackle, D. Głowala of ARDEA spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. With the score still deadlocked after extra time, the teams took to the field for a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner.

ARDEA's E. Nicolau looked like he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball, but unfortunately his shot went wide of the left hand post. Still 2 - 2. Taky's S. Chaldoupis didn't hesitate but P. Sansi managed the save, resulting in an unchanged 2 - 2 score. ARDEA's L. Ibros was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 3 - 2! Clearly nervous from the start, Taky's M. Merza took a long run up, but could only blast the ball over the bar. The score remains 3 - 2. ARDEA's J. Jiménez showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 4 - 2. Taky's K. Demeter looked nervous even as he was putting the ball on the spot. He didn't take much of a run up, and his weak shot was easily saved by the keeper. Oooh - how unlucky! ARDEA's D. Głowala attempt hit the underside of the bar, but rebounded down into the grateful arms of B. Ernte. The score stays 4 - 2. Taky's J. Kis didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of P. Sansi. The score remained 4 - 2. ARDEA's J. Olivar penalty shot was very well placed but B. Ernte went the right way, blocking it spectacularly. The score was still 4 - 2. Taky's T. Tiefenbach kept his cool as he faced down P. Sansi. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 4 - 3. ARDEA's top performer was clearly L. Ibros. On the other hand, P. Sansi's play was disheartening. B. Ernte performed admirably for Taky. K. Demeter turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 3.