Astrid 0 - 1 Intrepid (381665752)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 44620 had shown up at Landsberger Allee for the match. Edgar Calvo was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Edgar Idrobo and Vincent Niobe. A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Astrid. Lineup: Buxheli - Scioli, D'Ambrosio, Alcolea, Orrù - Cappelli, Carriero, Petrone, Campisi, Spirov - Pratarolo.

Intrepid decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Saracino - Tungbo, Uran, Mors, Tien Poh - Mancier, Petraroli, Stoyanov, Vandoma - Mo Costabella, Hetman.

The wings were the focus of most of Astrid's attacks today. Intrepid clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. Intrepid's counterattacks created a good chance for B. Mo Costabella on the right after 7 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. G. Pratarolo could have put Astrid into the lead after 19 minutes, but the free kick went just wide. In a rapid move 26 minutes into the match, J. Mancier of Intrepid lost his man and passed the ball to the unmarked B. Mo Costabella who easily hit it home to make it 0 - 1. Luckily the ref didn't see him taunting the opposing fans in celebration - naughty boy! A counterattack by Intrepid after 31 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but P. Uran, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. 0 - 1 was the halftime score. Astrid enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.

Intrepid's defence sent a ball soaring up the middle on a beautiful counterattack with 52 minutes gone, but B. Mo Costabella's finish was met by the reaching hands of the keeper. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave T. Mors from Intrepid a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 56 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! V. D'Ambrosio's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Astrid, he bravely continued in the match. Astrid were awarded a penalty 75 minutes into the game, but G. Pratarolo didn't make a good job of it and F. Saracino managed to save. With 76 minutes gone, W. Hetman suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by Intrepid caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Astrid, with 56 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Astrid player was without a doubt D. Cappelli. F. Carriero was a disappointment, however. Intrepid's best player was W. Hetman. On the other hand, J. Vandoma's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 1.