Vanquish 0 - 3 The blacks (379241438)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 3808 to Liberty Center. Edward Arensberg was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Gonzalo Bernasconi and Simon Cacheux. Vanquish tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Lachor - Stunz, Calo, Oblemenco - Quattrocchi, Lucescu, Stroescu, Săvulescu, Gradinarov - Siewniak, Højfeldt.

The blacks decided to use a 5-3-2 set up. Lineup: Darwish - Kotowski, Rutigliano, Flocan, Spechtenhauser, Oroian - Dürrenmatt, Van Dongen, Hansson - Hälikkä, Dimulescu.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of The blacks. After a fine move down the middle R. Săvulescu nearly gave the home side a goal after 15 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. A well placed corner kick from M. Dimulescu was followed by J. Kotowski's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for The blacks, the score now 0 - 1. After 28 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed E. Van Dongen to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 2. Had it not been for one of the home defenders, M. Dimulescu would have put The blacks up another goal 29 minutes into the match with his audacious lob from the right wing. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 2. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

The home side worked their way through the middle and almost got one back when T. Oblemenco tried to sneak the ball past the keeper. M. Darwish was too alert for that! With 58 minutes played, the Vanquish coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. T. Bordeianu came on, V. Lucescu had to leave the fray. F. Lachor kept the home side in the game with a magnificent save when M. Dimulescu delivered an almost perfect free kick to the far post. A. Hälikkä came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over F. Lachor but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. Always quick and a menace to his opponents, A. Hälikkä was very close to getting through after 74 minutes, but he could only put the ball into the keeper's arms. M. Racek was called on to replace Vanquish's D. Stroescu after 86 minutes following a nasty collision. The coach of The blacks was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 87 minutes, M. Paul came on for D. Flocan. The The blacks players could smell victory in the air. O. Oroian wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for L. Zander after 88 minutes. J. Calo got left behind when The blacks's A. Hälikkä made a sudden run forward after 88 minutes, finishing off with a neat strike. 0 - 3! A. Hälikkä left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 89 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. S. Letov was the replacement. The blacks enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 60 percent of possession.

Vanquish's best player was T. Oblemenco. J. Calo turned in a dismal performance, however. The blacks's top performer was clearly S. Letov. A. Rutigliano was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 3.