vologna 4 - 2 sirocco (381670527)

Dark skies made the crowd of 45000 at vologna dallara a little nervous, but the rain held off. Maurizio Manco was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alberto Brito and Zsolt Mednyánszky. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for vologna. The following players took the field: Serafini - Di Rosa, Paholpaad - Köpenig, Dinu, van Hastenberg, Asayag, Falkdahl - Koppensteiner, Whitney, Kurkinen.

sirocco had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. They fielded: D'Elia - Vega, Müller, Bajkić, van de Worp - van Mastrigt, Portas, Sedlaško, Ilišević - Magnusson, Marra.

The wings were the focus of most of sirocco's attacks today. vologna took the lead 3 minutes into the game by 1 - 0, as R. van Hastenberg elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. vologna solidified their lead at the 13 minute mark, as J. Kurkinen dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 2 - 0. By now, the players in vologna felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. The crowd roared its approval when P. Serafini somehow managed to block a shot which seemed to be a certain goal by sirocco's A. Magnusson 26 minutes into the game. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave I. Bajkić from sirocco a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 27 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Unfortunately for vologna, L. Koppensteiner was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. M. Mattiazzi replaced him. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 0. vologna had most of the ball, with 52 percent of possession.

47 minutes in, sirocco's O. Müller received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. S. Paholpaad unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. sirocco were able to mount several counterattacks, such as the impressive one after 57 minutes, but C. van Mastrigt lofted a free kick over the crossbar. Things were deteriorating for the away team as vologna scored another to make it 3 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for B. Asayag after 70 minutes. 75 minutes into the match, sirocco's A. Magnusson demonstrated his famed speed as he raced past his marker and passed the ball to G. Marra who chipped it in for 3 - 1. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in vologna's B. Asayag increasing the lead to 4 - 1. sirocco fought on and, after 77 minutes, A. Magnusson was able to reduce the deficit to 4 - 2 after some excellent moves on the right side were finished off with an incredibly clever chip. vologna enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

vologna's best player was B. Asayag. However, M. Mattiazzi made a disastrous appearance. sirocco's top performer was clearly F. Portas. J. van de Worp turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 2.