Sistese 5 - 1 Castagna (381734186)

The 57531 spectators at Sisto Arena were in for an afternoon of sunshine. Rain Tasuja was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Thomas Håkansson and Pier Giorgio Roccatagliata. Sistese decided to use a 3-4-3 set up. Lineup: Falasca - Donadeo, Massari, Musini - Gasbarra, Bompiedi, Glücksgriff, Sanfratello - Montixi, Giarrizzo, Ambrogetti.

Castagna tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players took the field: Jiménez Ayuso - Gallas, Sunal, Abdelkader, Moes - Kozak, Mali, Hriţcu, Zajączkowski - Směšný, Vuolteenaho.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Castagna. Sistese created a good opportunity to score 2 minutes into the match when O. Glücksgriff's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. Sistese had a chance to take the lead after M. Ambrogetti's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 7 minutes. With 13 minutes gone, M. Gallas suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by Castagna caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave P. Gasbarra from Sistese a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 16 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! With 35 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as F. Musini flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. The visitors almost came back with an equaliser 37 minutes into the match after a good combination down the middle, but when A. Kozak tried to finish the attack, he couldn't deliver the shot hard enough to seriously challenge the keeper. 1 - 0 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Sistese, with 58 percent of the ball.

After 47 minutes, M. Ambrogetti put Sistese ahead 2 - 0 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. Castagna needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 55 minutes T. Zajączkowski made way for D. Pierattini. 55 minutes into the game, D. Donadeo had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came S. Maratea. After 56 minutes, Castagna used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. With 56 minutes played, the Castagna coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. D. Dadema came on, A. Moes had to leave the fray. Sistese increased the lead as I. Giarrizzo struck to make the score 3 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. Sistese's I. Giarrizzo increased the lead to 4 - 0, after he saw his shot go between the legs of the advancing goalkeeper following some good play down the right wing after 79 minutes. With 84 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock, Castagna showed some good skill and were able to reduce the score to 4 - 1 when E. Sunal got past the home side's central defenders right in front of the goal. 85 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as I. Giarrizzo broke through, making the score 5 - 1 for Sistese. That was his third goal of the match - a hat trick for I. Giarrizzo. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Sistese lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. This part of the game was a standoff between the teams in terms of possession.

The most dominating Sistese player was without a doubt I. Giarrizzo. S. Maratea on the other hand, had a terrible day. Castagna's top performer was clearly T. Vuolteenaho. On the other hand, A. Kozak's play was disheartening. The match ends 5 - 1.