Cabroski 3 - 3 squatrioti (381663470)

The crowd of 45491 turning up at Cabroski Arena today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Gijs Wilkes was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Tesse Dassen and Lars Schefer. Cabroski had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. Starters: Braghini - Cesqui, Scalamandre - Petrosino, Pellegrino, Horcasitas, Bettega, Lobato - Rieto, Bonamusa, Pollicino.

squatrioti started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. They fielded: Artuso - Bassoricci, Bérard, Castaldo, Talanti - Fassari, Halili, Fontseré, Tini, D'Antoni - Nöske.

squatrioti used their skill at pressing to cut off the attack angles of their opponents all over the field. squatrioti pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. squatrioti's G. Bassoricci left the field after 8 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was P. Leese. Making his way up the middle 19 minutes into the match, S. Pollicino almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert D. Artuso blocked it to keep the score level. Cabroski broke through on the left 20 minutes into the game, with R. Scalamandre firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 1 - 0 lead. The corner kick from J. Nöske was powerfully met by the head of N. Tini to make the score 1 - 1. Cabroski's D. Horcasitas had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 31 minutes having been played. R. Schneyder was the replacement. J. Lobato didn't let the weather get him down and made some great moves on the pitch in spite of the rain. After a fine move down the middle V. Bonamusa nearly gave the home side a goal after 33 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. After 34 minutes, squatrioti's J. Nöske swiftly ran past G. Cesqui and nutmegged the keeper! 1 - 2. 35 minutes into the match, Cabroski's S. Pollicino maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 2 - 2. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 2. Cabroski enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 56 percent of possession.

squatrioti's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. J. Nöske slipped and slithered in the wet grass. His usual rapid runs were nowhere to be seen today. The pressing tactics used by squatrioti were successful as the ball remained close to the half way line at all times. Cabroski took the lead 74 minutes into the match after a magnificent free kick by S. Pellegrino that made the score 3 - 2. J. Nöske tied the game at 3 - 3 after 84 minutes, when he converted an incredible pass from the right. Cabroski were very close to putting themselves one up after 85 minutes as S. Pollicino got through on the left, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. Cabroski had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

Cabroski's best player was S. Pollicino. V. Bonamusa turned in a dismal performance, however. Most important squatrioti player was D. Artuso. P. Leese was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 3.