Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and
Avalon saw a crowd turnout of 68340.
Patrik Linnanen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Karl-Thomas Nebenhof and
Hubert Jaspers.
People from all over
Rīga had joined up for the derby.
Daemonarch decided to use a 3-4-3 set up.
They fielded: Viviès - Manzan, Di Massimo, Joensuu - Ferroni, Hasan, de Carvalho, Strzeszewski - Gutting, Groenemeyer, Plageman.
XB started off with a 3-5-2 lineup.
The following players had been chosen: Juárez - Giacaman, Mpatzis, Záhořík - Volavka, Košař, Kariuki, Lamedo, Prego - Kashirin, Buldurs.
4 minutes into the match and the home team took a 1 - 0 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for Daemonarch was
D. Groenemeyer.
A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by
I. Gutting. At last, Daemonarch's
J. Strzeszewski was able to backheel the ball in. 2 - 0.
XB's right side looked dangerous after 27 minutes, as
A. Buldurs broke through.
L. Viviès continued to stifle them, however, as he made the save look easy.
The away team improved the scoreline to 2 - 1, as
F. Volavka struck home, set up well by a play on the left 28 minutes into the match.
Daemonarch's
D. Groenemeyer swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball.
A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of Daemonarch to 3 - 1 as
G. Hasan finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle.
Confident in their lead, Daemonarch's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it.
XB came close to narrowing the gap when
I. Giacaman's free kick nearly made it past the outstretched hands of
L. Viviès after 40 minutes.
The teams went for the halftime break at 3 - 1.
XB enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.
T. Lamedo of XB received a yellow card after 50 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour.
51 minutes in,
A. Buldurs made an incredible run up the middle and nearly reduced the home side's lead, but
L. Viviès refused to let the ball slip by him.
53 minutes into the match, the visitors reduced the lead to 3 - 2 as a free kick by
I. Giacaman slunk past the home side's goalkeeper.
Daemonarch solidified their lead at the 61 minute mark, as
J. Strzeszewski dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 4 - 2.
Morale on the visitors' bench was greatly improved when their
Z. Košař reduced the lead to make it 4 - 3 after 63 minutes, following a pass from the right.
A penalty 69 minutes into the game gave the home side a chance at adding to the score, but an overconfident
D. Groenemeyer shot the ball wide trying to put it away in the top corner.
Content with how the game was proceeding, the Daemonarch coach let
F. Bērziņš replace
I. Gutting after 70 minutes.
71 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as
G. Hasan broke through, making the score 5 - 3 for Daemonarch.
XB had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.
Most important Daemonarch player was
G. Hasan.
C. Joensuu was a disappointment, however.
XB's top performer was clearly
N. Kashirin.
D. Juárez turned in a dismal performance, however.
The match ends 5 - 3.