Marousi 4 - 2 penistes (381338315)

It was an exceptionally sunny day for the crowd of 24543 that came out to Marousi FC Arena. Mercé Ribera was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Javier Celaya and Artur Fröhlich. A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Marousi. Lineup: Karakasis - Kefalopoulos, Aldrich, Floropoulos, Sedbo, Psiloglou - Drakos, Georgamlis, Morikis, Karaiskakis - Andresen.

penistes tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Bosancu - Gkloumis, Gatopoulos, Prokos - Eptaminitakis, Janssens, Mpeloutsis, Kalomiris - Ventouris, Larrain, Maratopoulos.

For their match strategy, Marousi had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. The wings were the focus of most of penistes's attacks today. The celebrations in the stands could only mean one thing - K. Psiloglou's free kick had found the back of the net and put Marousi ahead 1 - 0! After 18 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as penistes found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to solid. The sun seemed to put P. Ventouris in a great mood, and he showed off his technical skills all match long. After 29 minutes, the visitors tied it up at 1 - 1 when a fantastic pass from the left was finished off by V. Prokos. 30 minutes into the game, penistes seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to passable. After 32 minutes, K. Psiloglou sent the corner kick right to K. Sedbo who headed it sharply past the keeper. 2 - 1! With 36 minutes played, Marousi put themselves up 3 - 1 when the visiting defenders lost the ball to K. Psiloglou, who came up from the left and proceeded to coolly round the keeper and knock the ball home. With 44 minutes played, Marousi's M. Karaiskakis almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. Marousi's K. Sedbo was shown a yellow card after 44 minutes for slicing down an opponent. 44 minutes into the game, penistes seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. After 44 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by K. Sedbo might have resulted in another goal for Marousi. However, C. Bosancu made a spectacular save. Marousi's B. Andresen got himself booked for a foul. There was concern in the stands when, at the 44 minute mark, Marousi's T. Aldrich hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Marousi put themselves up 4 - 1 when B. Andresen broke through on the right, leaving the entire defence trailing in his wake. After 44 minutes Marousi's A. Drakos contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. 4 - 1 was the halftime score. Marousi had most of the ball, with 67 percent of possession.

The penistes players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a passable organisation when the game started again. Ater 55 minutes I. Maratopoulos seized on an opportunistic attack from the right, and scored for penistes making it 4 - 2. With 66 minutes played, T. Aldrich of Marousi fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. 71 minutes in, penistes appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only passable. Marousi's M. Karaiskakis swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball. Marousi's B. Andresen saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 73 minutes. 76 minutes in, penistes appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only weak. K. Sedbo should probably have put his team up another goal after 80 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by C. Bosancu kept the visitors in the game. 83 minutes into the game, penistes had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to poor. 84 minutes were showing on the scoreboard when Marousi's T. Aldrich received his second yellow card and was sent off. Marousi claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 73 percent.

Most important Marousi player was P. Morikis. Y. Karakasis was a disappointment, however. penistes's best player was P. Ventouris. However, C. Bosancu made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 4 - 2.