Nomaam 6 - 7 ROVER (379683778)

It was an exceptionally sunny day for the crowd of 56493 that came out to Al "33" Bundy Arena. Niels Have Christensen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Eldert Coemans and Josef Reichl. Nomaam started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Uhrin - Torbavecz, Endrei, Zalánfi - Verhaar, Heeb, Eremia, Eck, De Sousa - Ånglund, Tokody.

ROVER decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. The following players had been chosen: Ulloa - Haungs, Duljaj - Agnoli, Gerola, Kerbler, Röst, Diano - Baleda, Tieber, Södersjö.

With 20 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as G. Zalánfi flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. R. Tokody should probably have put his team up another goal after 26 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by A. Ulloa kept the visitors in the game. After 28 minutes, Z. Duljaj sent the corner kick right to O. Södersjö who headed it sharply past the keeper. 1 - 1! Given a free kick close to the byline, ROVER tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let G. Tieber slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 1 - 2, 29 minutes into the game. The ROVER coach was visibly pleased with the score so far, but still ordered a few tactical changes 30 minutes into the game. After a short break after 30 minutes, ROVER seemed to change their tactical approach a bit. 36 minutes into the game, Á. Eck came close to levelling the score with a dangerous shot from the centre of the area that went just over the bar. After the ball was lifted in from the left, G. Tieber was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 37 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. 1 - 2 was the halftime score. Nomaam claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.

Speedy R. Verhaar tried one of his patented rushes 65 minutes into the game, but Z. Duljaj was just as fast and averted the attack. The coach of ROVER was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 70 minutes, G. Zselénszky came on for O. Södersjö. 72 minutes into the match, Nomaam's R. Tokody popped up from nowhere, cheekily stole the ball off an opposition player and scored. 2 - 2. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when V. Baleda was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 73 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! After 75 minutes, the Nomaam coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving C. Eremia off the field. T. Ersü took his place. As the 76 minute mark approached, the Nomaam coach decided it was time for a substitution. R. Verhaar reluctantly made way for P. Aloisi on the pitch. Nomaam had a chance to take the lead after T. Ånglund's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 86 minutes. The referee showed ROVER's G. Zselénszky the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Possession in this half belonged to Nomaam, who controlled the ball 61 percent of the time.

Still tied after 90 minutes, the match continued into extra time. The intense heat forced P. Aloisi into making some errors because he couldn't seem to keep up with the others. Nomaam created a good opportunity to score 98 minutes into the match when D. Heeb's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. After extra time, the game was still tied and a penalty shoot-out ensued.

Nomaam's G. De Sousa coolly put the ball past A. Ulloa. 3 - 2. ROVER's Z. Duljaj made no mistake. K. Uhrin didn't have a chance. 3 - 3. Nomaam's D. Heeb showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 4 - 3. ROVER's A. Ulloa was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 4 - 4! Nomaam's T. Ånglund kept his cool as he faced down A. Ulloa. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 5 - 4. ROVER's G. Diano was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 5 - 5! Nomaam's R. Tokody was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 6 - 5! ROVER's S. Röst coolly put the ball past K. Uhrin. 6 - 6. A confident B. Torbavecz of Nomaam put the ball right where he wanted, but A. Ulloa was right there for the save. No goal. ROVER's R. Gerola showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 6 - 7. The most dominating Nomaam player was without a doubt Á. Eck. On the other hand, G. De Sousa's play was disheartening. G. Tieber performed admirably for ROVER. However, Z. Duljaj made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 6 - 7.