Arkadin 3 - 1 Team (381666195)

Dark skies made the crowd of 39516 at Arkadin Arena a little nervous, but the rain held off. Arkadin had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. Starters: Balducci - Negroni, Altman - Donvito, Goja, Aloise, Belmonte, Maggiore - Peñaranda, Fiori, Erdal.

Team tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Šeketa - Iosip, Pistono, Olianas, Bailey - Cloître, Tonietti, Boccacin, Brianda - Rumie, van Loenen.

For their match strategy, Team had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. G. Maggiore of Arkadin received a yellow card after 22 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. C. van Loenen stunned the crowd with a brilliant counterattack from the left, giving Team the goal to make it 0 - 1. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave D. Belmonte from Arkadin a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 30 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Arkadin's A. Altman put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 1 - 1 with 31 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. 1 - 1 was the halftime score. Arkadin had most of the ball, with 61 percent of possession.

Arkadin had a chance to take the lead after D. Goja's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 56 minutes. Arkadin took the lead 68 minutes into the game by 2 - 1, as E. Peñaranda elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. A. Altman of Arkadin was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Arkadin's G. Negroni increasing the lead to 3 - 1. Arkadin's A. Altman saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 85 minutes. Possession in this half belonged to Arkadin, who controlled the ball 61 percent of the time.

Arkadin's top performer was clearly B. Fiori. G. Donvito was a disappointment, however. V. Tonietti performed admirably for Team. G. Pistono on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 1.