Neibade 2 - 0 Velni (381510243)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 36867 to FK Neibade Arena. Gian Luigi Nina was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Filip Kapaník and Marian Ghica. Neibade had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Audritzky - Ruzicka, Sobottka, Mérei - Awat, Pollner, Sibani, Mugardos, Jakab - Silanau, Pogost.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Velni. Lineup: Drušs - Putniņš, Baldunčiks, Laipiņš - Gerashchenko, Garais, Tolis, Puris, Burbickis - Salenko, Mazuris.

The guests almost went up by a goal after 2 minutes when Y. Salenko came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. Neibade's M. Pollner was shown a yellow card after 6 minutes for slicing down an opponent. 0 - 0 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Neibade, with 57 percent of the ball.

63 minutes in, Neibade's A. Silanau received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. S. Putniņš of Velni had to be helped off the pitch as an injury meant he was unable to finish the game. A. Ozoliņš came in to finish the match. Making his way up the middle 69 minutes into the match, G. Sibani almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert R. Drušs blocked it to keep the score level. It wasn't a pretty goal, but the free kick by M. Sobottka after 72 minutes somehow found its way past the keeper. Neibade takes the lead, 1 - 0! J. Baldunčiks wasn't fit enough for a full game and made several mistakes out of sheer exhaustion. One of them was exploited by V. Pogost who shot home to make it 2 - 0. Neibade's I. Mérei had an excellent opportunity after 79 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! Neibade's N. Audritzky left the field after 81 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was M. Escala. With the clock showing 83 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Velni resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by E. Garais in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. Neibade's M. Sobottka got himself booked for a foul. A. Silanau of Neibade got sent off for kicking the ball after the whistle, a completely uncalled for move, earning him his second yellow card of the game. M. Sobottka was the new captain of Neibade - handed the armband by the departing player. Possession in this half belonged to Neibade, who controlled the ball 66 percent of the time.

Neibade's best player was G. Sibani. M. Escala on the other hand, had a terrible day. A. Tolis performed admirably for Velni. R. Drušs was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 0.