Hirondelle 1 - 0 Speranta (380802547)

A scorching day at Hirondelle Stadium, where 24758 spectators were in place for today's match. Dennis Conklin was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alex Vintimilla and Regino Unanue. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Hirondelle. Starters: Fantoni - Ravi, Fresen, Dan - Gunkel, Kranhals, Hetzel, Sanmartin, Aspenbratt - Erdő, Traiber.

Speranta decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. Lineup: Ruiter - Kuritár, Vancia, Eganov, Deleanu - Matei, Özbilge, Nicolas, Hammerstein - Campisi, Busi.

The wings were the focus of most of Hirondelle's attacks today. Hirondelle were very close to putting themselves one up after 36 minutes as A. Hetzel got through on the left, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Given a free kick close to the byline, Hirondelle tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let J. Fresen slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 1 - 0, 40 minutes into the game. Hirondelle's R. Traiber got himself booked for a foul. 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Possession in this half belonged to Hirondelle, who controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.

The heat made it a terrible day for Á. Erdő, who seemed unable to keep up with the other players. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 53 minutes, Speranta tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. Hirondelle's A. Hetzel put in a disappointing effort on a penalty after 67 minutes, firing just wide of the goal. Hirondelle's M. Gunkel was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 71 minutes. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Hirondelle, with 58 percent of the ball.

Hirondelle's top performer was clearly A. Hetzel. On the other hand, Á. Erdő's play was disheartening. Speranta's best player was O. Matei. R. Ruiter turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 0.