Ghetto 3 - 2 SESTRI (381791265)

27762 spectators had found their way to Parco Stadium, despite the heavy rain. Kliment Jalůvka was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Izidor Fontanot and Julio Lana. Ghetto tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. They fielded: Khavanov - Charlet, Öhstad - Wamelink, Bergstrand, Bidet, Astier, MacKintosh - Alleyne, Pietraszak, Erkelenz.

SESTRI had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. The following players had been chosen: Rupert - Albrink, Korlin, Sarv - Usodemar, Jukka, de Zwaan, Beglov - Lanfranchi, Bickenbach, Perricone.

Ghetto took the lead after 5 minutes as a result of F. Wamelink's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 1 - 0. SESTRI's P. Lanfranchi left the field after 22 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was A. Felicioli. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Ghetto's F. Wamelink increasing the lead to 2 - 0. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Ghetto lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. C. Erkelenz made a quick rush after 28 minutes, but T. Korlin had no problems keeping up the pace and stopped the attack. A bit later, SESTRI's I. Beglov easily reduced the lead to 2 - 1 after a misunderstanding in the home side's central defence. After 34 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by C. Erkelenz might have resulted in another goal for Ghetto. However, H. Rupert made a spectacular save. A. Bickenbach spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. C. Alleyne had a fantastic opportunity to put Ghetto up another goal 38 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. Ghetto enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 67 percent of possession.

After 46 minutes, SESTRI switched J. Usodemar with H. Iversen, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. M. Albrink was the new captain of SESTRI - handed the armband by the departing player. 63 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as C. Erkelenz broke through, making the score 3 - 1 for Ghetto. With 70 minutes played, G. Astier could have brought this one home for Ghetto as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. With 78 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock, SESTRI showed some good skill and were able to reduce the score to 3 - 2 when P. Jukka got past the home side's central defenders right in front of the goal. With 82 minutes played, Ghetto's F. Wamelink almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. Ghetto claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 61 percent.

Ghetto's best player was A. Pietraszak. V. Charlet on the other hand, had a terrible day. A. Perricone performed admirably for SESTRI. However, P. Sarv made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 2.