Roma 4 - 3 Balorda (381662826)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 50092 at Colosseum today. Ricco Hibbs was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Davorin Solic and Alessandro Rotatori. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Roma. Starters: Nicolo' - Meyke, Mascia, Medeot, Toebosch - Andresen, Curto, Ariosto, Gayà - Kaplick, Cappelli.

Balorda started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. They fielded: Marceau - Bonini, Alighini - Dominguez, Del Bufalo, Van Roosbroeck, Devendzhiev, Pintur - Casas, Absolon, Tomić.

Roma clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. Balorda were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. After 1 minutes, the Balorda coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving C. Absolon off the field. J. Ferkranus took his place. Down the middle came A. Devendzhiev, making a fantastic play that nearly had Balorda take the lead after 27 minutes, but E. Nicolo' preserved the tie. After 29 minutes, G. Alighini sent the corner kick right to S. Pintur who headed it sharply past the keeper. 0 - 1! Roma's D. Ariosto put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 1 - 1 with 32 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. The guests almost went up by a goal after 34 minutes when R. Dominguez came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 40 minutes into the match left Balorda's C. Casas completely free to score. 1 - 2 for the visitors. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 2. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Balorda, with 65 percent of the ball.

J. Ferkranus left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 55 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. G. Łebkowski was the replacement. Players in Balorda heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. A. Tomić could have put his team up another goal 62 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. Roma's counterattacks were lethal to the opposing defence, allowing N. Toebosch to score easily from the right flank for 2 - 2. J. Gayà's lightning pace was too much for B. Bonini who could only look on as the Roma player blasted one home. 3 - 2. Roma were great at switching from defence to attack, and after 81 minutes, C. Kaplick swept through the middle on a counterattack, making the score 4 - 2. 82 minutes in, an amazing pass from the left side resulted in a goal for the visitors, as O. Del Bufalo anticipated the through ball and scored, reducing the deficit to 4 - 3. Balorda had most of the ball, with 66 percent of possession.

O. Cappelli performed admirably for Roma. However, G. Medeot made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Balorda player was without a doubt C. Casas. P. Van Roosbroeck on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 3.