Alchemia 1 - 2 ZANATESE (380288558)

20650 punters turned up at Real Alchemia Arena, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Otte Steinhagen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Eli Danneels and Isaías Padrão. Alchemia decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Anuprevičius - Buescu, Coelmont, Eihenbergs-Ozolkalns, Wall - Macramé, Tavan, Fehlhaber, Flament, Bellandi - Konijnenberg.

ZANATESE tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Montevecchi - Agnoluzzi, Pimentel, Szychowiak - Gadowski, Piela, Mauceri, Falegnami, Van 'T Hoff - Soutullo, Lumbroso.

Alchemia clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. A foul called during a Alchemia counterattack resulted in a great chance to score, but R. Konijnenberg's shot rattled off the post. A. Piela came close to putting the visiting team one up 4 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but G. Anuprevičius managed to tip the ball to a corner. M. Lumbroso of ZANATESE seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 0 - 1 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by D. Pimentel. 24 minutes into the game, ZANATESE worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. ZANATESE were great at switching from defence to attack, and after 26 minutes, A. Piela swept through the middle on a counterattack, making the score 0 - 2. After this, you could see that the players of ZANATESE were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 2. ZANATESE had most of the ball, with 56 percent of possession.

F. Buescu dispatched a majestic long shot 50 minutes into the match, but missed the goal by a few metres. E. Van 'T Hoff neatly controlled the ball after a short corner, and knocked it on to M. Lumbroso who had the whole net open before him, but only managed to hit the post. ZANATESE's E. Van 'T Hoff got himself booked for a foul. Still ahead in the game after 70 minutes, ZANATESE made some tactical adjustments. A. Mauceri and E. Van 'T Hoff swapped positions. Content with how the game was proceeding, the ZANATESE coach let S. Balestreri replace A. Mauceri after 70 minutes. After 75 minutes, Alchemia's G. Coelmont fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! ZANATESE came close to extending their lead as A. Piela delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 79 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. Alchemia earned themselves a free kick after a counterattack wasn't dealt with adequately by their opponents. R. Konijnenberg powered the shot in for 1 - 2. After 81 minutes of game time, S. Balestreri had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but G. Anuprevičius was in the right place and tipped the ball over for a corner. The coach of ZANATESE was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 87 minutes, E. Nilsson came on for W. Szychowiak. A. Piela became the new ZANATESE captain. Possession in this half belonged to ZANATESE, who controlled the ball 55 percent of the time.

The most dominating Alchemia player was without a doubt W. Flament. M. Fehlhaber turned in a dismal performance, however. ZANATESE's top performer was clearly Z. Falegnami. However, E. Nilsson made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 2.