SPHEGODES 4 - 1 Giugliano (381766903)

27859 spectators had found their way to Ophrys stadium, despite the heavy rain. Gough Bright-Thomas was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Arne Paus and Jaakko-Pekka Parkkinen. SPHEGODES decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. The following players took the field: Naumann - Bardzki, Tullskär - Duque, Oroví, Sørensen, Oksanen, Mauceri - Condemi, Dima, Wilmer.

Giugliano had chosen a strategic 5-3-2 formation. They fielded: Bovo - Hampeis, Oliati, Koss, Franchi, Fuiorea - Stumpo, Serenrosso, Crincoli - Zampedri, Voroli.

Today, SPHEGODES's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Giugliano. After 14 minutes, the defensive line of Giugliano created a counterattack through the middle that gave C. Voroli a good look at the goal, but his shot glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. With 15 minutes played, L. Hampeis of Giugliano fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. Giugliano's O. Koss got himself booked for a foul. Good work by the Giugliano defensive line after 19 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found A. Stumpo alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. The visiting M. Zampedri was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 22 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 0 - 1 was the score. Players in SPHEGODES heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. 29 minutes in, and SPHEGODES were able to score the equalising goal to make it 1 - 1 when A. Wilmer picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave W. Duque from SPHEGODES a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 35 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Halftime score was 1 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by SPHEGODES, with 65 percent of the ball.

The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but M. Sørensen showed great heart and had a good game. With 54 minutes gone, SPHEGODES had a free kick in a decent position. Despite this being a great chance for a shot, they tried a cheeky move intended to bypass the defence. However, G. Mauceri did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. M. Sørensen would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. E. Emborg entered the game for SPHEGODES as the match clock showed 61 minutes. Å. Naumann was handed the SPHEGODES captain's armband. It was obvious that SPHEGODES had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. SPHEGODES took the lead after 71 minutes as a result of A. Wilmer's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 2 - 1. Giugliano's E. Oliati was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 76 minutes. 80 minutes were showing on the scoreboard when Giugliano's L. Hampeis received his second yellow card and was sent off. After 85 minutes W. Duque made a speedy advance and dropped the ball to A. Wilmer who shuffled it past the keeper. The score was now 3 - 1. By then A. Wilmer had scored three goals - a hat trick! At this point, it was obvious that the players of SPHEGODES lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. SPHEGODES were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. SPHEGODES managed to extend their lead to 4 - 1 when P. Dima cut in neatly from the left side and struck a fine shot past the away team's goalkeeper. SPHEGODES claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 66 percent.

SPHEGODES's best player was P. Dima. W. Duque on the other hand, had a terrible day. R. Crincoli performed admirably for Giugliano. E. Oliati was a disappointment, however. The match ends 4 - 1.