Phoenix 3 - 0 Sprint (379319001)

2848 fans braved the pouring rain at Southern Guardian Arena. Jim Carlsson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Adolfo Sascaró and Donald Võsandi. A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Phoenix. Starters: Kusdaryanto - Sahetapy, Budiarso, Kemal, Sugiyantoro, I Gede - Adamkiewicz, Chantan, Leme Araújo, Barnett - Pangestu.

Sprint started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. Lineup: Stępkowski - Wilmet, Beunckens - Micarelli, Tloome, Machiels, Vidts, Coessens - Capron, Hardenbol, Öztekin.

W. Pangestu gave Phoenix the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 Phoenix's Y. I Gede got himself booked for a foul. Phoenix's B. Kemal had an excellent opportunity after 22 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! After 29 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Sprint found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to weak. Thighs bulging, V. Leme Araújo charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. N. Coessens made a nice dash down the wing after 37 minutes, but was unable to get the cross into the box. A goal kick was awarded. Given a free kick close to the byline, Phoenix tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let W. Pangestu slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 2 - 0, 39 minutes into the game. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Phoenix lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Phoenix solidified their lead at the 40 minute mark, as D. Barnett dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 3 - 0. The teams went for the halftime break at 3 - 0. Phoenix had most of the ball, with 76 percent of possession.

During the break, Sprint's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to passable organisation. After 60 minutes, Sprint used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. The Sprint coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. B. Capron behaved like an inexperienced youth player after 60 minutes as he gave the ball away to D. Barnett. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. The bench was restless, and with 65 minutes passed Sprint's coach gave M. Elliot the opportunity the player had been hoping for. M. Stępkowski reluctantly left the field. After 70 minutes, Sprint switched M. Micarelli with W. Kaly, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. With 75 minutes played, the Sprint coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. P. Fors came on, S. Öztekin had to leave the fray. The referee showed Phoenix's D. Barnett the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Sprint's C. Machiels was shown a yellow card after 84 minutes for slicing down an opponent. A. Wilmet of Sprint received a yellow card after 86 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Phoenix claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 71 percent.

Most important Phoenix player was V. Leme Araújo. W. Kusdaryanto turned in a dismal performance, however. P. Fors performed admirably for Sprint. F. Hardenbol was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 0.