Cozzi 0 - 7 gentlemen (380439802)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 12000 to Cozzi Elite Arena. Giovanni Bordoni was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alex Facius and Sebastien Balzarini. Cozzi tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. Lineup: Slator - Meert, Delli Santi, Barber, Labrecque - Crosby, Ducharme, Mitchell, Bull - Fortier, Ancona.

gentlemen had chosen a strategic 5-2-3 formation. The following players took the field: Băcanu - Steffensen, Bentivegna, Frigy, Gašparović, Kloiber - Bandelloni, Rabeder - Ardama, Mitlašauskas, Champalimaud.

For their match strategy, gentlemen had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. 7 minutes into the game, A. Mitlašauskas was a hair's breadth away from giving gentlemen the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by J. Slator saved the home team that time. After 8 minutes, Cozzi were awarded a free kick as their counter attack broke down. The set piece was lifted over the top, intended to open up the defence. However, the target man seemed to be taken by surprise, and could not reach the ball before it crossed the line for a goal kick. The guests took the lead 12 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in M. Frigy scoring to make it 0 - 1. P. Ardama of gentlemen took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 21 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 0 - 2. The referee showed Cozzi's V. Ducharme the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Unfortunately for gentlemen, R. Steffensen was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. A. Eldar replaced him. Had it not been for one of the home defenders, P. Ardama would have put gentlemen up another goal 38 minutes into the match with his audacious lob from the right wing. After 40 minutes, gentlemen's J. Gašparović burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 3. After 41 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave S. Bandelloni a chance to increase the lead for gentlemen, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 4. By now, the players in gentlemen felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 4. Possession in this half belonged to gentlemen, who controlled the ball 81 percent of the time.

With 48 minutes played, gentlemen put themselves up 0 - 5 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was S. Bandelloni. The home keeper was stunned 64 minutes into the match when he misjudged the free kick by A. Mitlašauskas and dived in the wrong direction. The visitors increased the lead to 0 - 6. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, A. Mitlašauskas got himself booked. The manager of gentlemen was not happy. K. Baines was called on to replace Cozzi's G. Ancona after 72 minutes following a nasty collision. After 74 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for P. Ardama who increased gentlemen's lead to 0 - 7. gentlemen enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 83 percent of possession.

Most important Cozzi player was K. Baines. J. Slator was a disappointment, however. gentlemen's best player was P. Ardama. M. Frigy on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 7.