Nogol 2 - 4 Amfiloxias (380163053)

The crowd of 8287 turning up at Nogol Arena today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Valtteri Mällönen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Aage Fredgaard and Jere Rohweder. A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Nogol. The following players took the field: Martín - Viergol, Lindh, Castillo, Gil de Atienza, Gębski - Sampalis, Vazelopoulos, Grigoriou - Voulgarakis, Savouroyiannopoulos.

Amfiloxias had chosen a strategic 5-3-2 formation. Starters: Özad - Lapsēns, Laisalmi, Puigivila, Kobegenov, Campoo - Öztanır, Vesteren, Siagris - Teige, Vallée.

Today, Nogol's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. K. Vazelopoulos sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from P. Voulgarakis after 3 minutes of play, making the score 1 - 0. Players in Nogol heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. After 11 minutes, K. Vazelopoulos put Nogol ahead 2 - 0 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. After this, you could see that the players of Nogol were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. Amfiloxias's K. Siagris was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 24 minutes. Morale on the visitors' bench was greatly improved when their Z. Öztanır reduced the lead to make it 2 - 1 after 26 minutes, following a pass from the right. B. Kobegenov spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. With 38 minutes played, R. Lapsēns of Amfiloxias fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. The home team will be cursing K. Siagris for weeks; he finished off a great pass from the left, knocking it past the keeper without a problem. The match was level at 2 - 2 after 41 minutes. With 43 minutes played, Amfiloxias's well-worked indirect free kick caused havoc in the penalty area, and when the ball eventually fell to K. Siagris he gleefully slotted the ball home to make it 2 - 3. It was 2 - 3 at the break. Amfiloxias had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.

Thighs bulging, S. Vallée charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 71 minutes, Amfiloxias did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, S. Vallée was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 2 - 4. By now, the players in Amfiloxias felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. Amfiloxias's S. Vallée made it through the home team's defence on the right hand side 72 minutes into the match. After rounding the keeper, he only had to place the ball in the unguarded goal when a defender slid in and cleared the ball off the line. 73 minutes into the game, Amfiloxias worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. S. Teige could have put his team up another goal 74 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. 80 minutes in, Nogol's P. Voulgarakis received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Amfiloxias claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 60 percent.

P. Castillo performed admirably for Nogol. A. Gębski on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Amfiloxias player was S. Vallée. B. Kobegenov was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 4.