Esen 4 - 2 Trakya7 (379079711)

Clouds darkened the skies at Esen Zuid Stadion as 2379 spectators turned up for the match. Ron Oost was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Edgardo del Pozo and Thierry Bastiaens. Esen decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. Starters: Mignogna - Fraselle, Carna - Würz, Drozdowski, António, Kinnaert, Luksic - Parton, De Jaeger, Gossye.

Trakya7 started off with a 5-3-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Pozan - ten Brinke, Charrier, Runyan, Liebaut, Ak - Esenkul, Okumuş, Çiçekçi - Günçiçeği, Manço.

Esen mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. Trakya7 used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. The head of O. Esenkul connected with a corner kick after 15 minutes, and the ball ended up with T. ten Brinke of Trakya7 who blasted the ball into the net, making the score 0 - 1. Esen's L. Kinnaert put his head to a high ball coming in from the right after 27 minutes, but the ball went wide. The crowd was on its feet 30 minutes into the match, as Esen's J. De Jaeger found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 1 - 1 equaliser. J. De Jaeger of Esen was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Esen fans held their breath as J. De Jaeger scampered down the left side. He successfully avoided all challenges and cracked home the shot for 2 - 1! Esen's J. De Jaeger had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 41 minutes having been played. J. Schoors was the replacement. Halftime score was 2 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Esen, with 75 percent of the ball.

C. Gossye wanted to play on, but the Esen coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 46 minutes into the game by E. Borra. The coach of Esen was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 46 minutes, E. Davitt came on for J. Parton. It was obvious that team Esen had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. Esen's J. Luksic saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 57 minutes. Trakya7 showed their counterattack skill 58 minutes into the match by breaking through the middle, with Y. Manço scoring uncontested for 2 - 2. With 61 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, L. Kinnaert needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. Esen took the lead 65 minutes into the game by 3 - 2, as B. Würz elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. Trakya7's C. Runyan was shown a yellow card after 72 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Esen put in a good effort on the right, but B. Würz saw his volley fly wide of the mark 77 minutes into the game. A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of Esen to 4 - 2 as L. Kinnaert finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. J. Luksic could have increased the lead after 87 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. Esen had most of the ball, with 74 percent of possession.

Most important Esen player was D. Drozdowski. On the other hand, J. Luksic's play was disheartening. The most dominating Trakya7 player was without a doubt A. Günçiçeği. T. Çiçekçi on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 2.