Norocoshii 2 - 3 Pelendava (380794830)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 34025 at NorocoshiiTeam Arena today. Johannes Jokinen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Miska Karhulahti and Nicola Cipriani. Norocoshii started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Eduegui - Sachau, Saga, Lipso - Boktorp, Alcaide, Mosstål, Ürün, Sacherini - Nicoară, Popa.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Pelendava. Starters: Kaliciński - Weelinck, Labrador, Andersen - Rosengarten, Greetfeld, Ruiz Girón, Alma Tadema, Srovnal - Ollé, Håkansson.

Norocoshii were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. Pelendava saw most attack opportunities on the wings. The terraces were silenced after 8 minutes when Pelendava's A. Ollé put the guests ahead 0 - 1, following an attack on the right. W. Sachau showed the skills that make him a real crowd pleaser as he, after 20 minutes, wove through the guests' entire central defence and put the 1 - 1 equaliser away. The guests almost went up by a goal after 21 minutes when J. Håkansson came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. The visitors could have taken the lead from a free kick after 34 minutes, if it wasn't for the jaw-dropping save by J. Eduegui. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Pelendava, with 57 percent of the ball.

As the 50 minute mark approached, the Pelendava coach decided it was time for a substitution. L. Andersen reluctantly made way for M. Amirante on the pitch. 55 minutes into the match, the Pelendava manager wanted to try a new tactic, and the players loyally obliged. Making his way up the middle 79 minutes into the match, R. Ürün almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert F. Kaliciński blocked it to keep the score level. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when J. Håkansson was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 80 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! Pelendava had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. 81 minutes of the match played, and a comedy of errors by the home side gave the visitors a chance at the lead, but P. Srovnal, after finding himself dashing down on goal from the left with only the keeper to beat, sliced his shot horribly wide. After 82 minutes Norocoshii's M. Mosstål limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Norocoshii could have put themselves ahead after 83 minutes but C. Popa missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. Pelendava took the lead 86 minutes into the game, making the score 1 - 2 after some elegant movement down the middle. M. Amirante was the scorer. A well placed corner kick from P. Srovnal was followed by J. Håkansson's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Pelendava, the score now 1 - 3. A marvellous Norocoshii effort on the right-hand side resulted in a goal after 89 minutes by M. Mosstål, making the score 2 - 3. Possession in this half belonged to Pelendava, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

Norocoshii's best player was P. Alcaide. J. Eduegui on the other hand, had a terrible day. J. Ruiz Girón performed admirably for Pelendava. However, F. Kaliciński made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 3.