Meccanici 2 - 4 pcmr (381828877)

12570 spectators had found their way to Meccan Stadium, despite the heavy rain. Jaakko Kurikka was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jolan Niclaus and Ignas Eikelenboom. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Meccanici. They fielded: Smernos - Chiauzzi, Troska - Lixó, Steegen, Klausz, Marcucci, Săvulescu - Barrera, Hautamäki, Borovac.

pcmr decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players took the field: Römer - Khaleev, Albrecht, Fontanari - Calosso, Romanato, Lyse Hansen, Emmer, Wichlacz - Vozmediano, Paiva.

Meccanici used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. The wings were the focus of most of pcmr's attacks today. After 12 minutes, Meccanici were awarded a free kick. Rather than shooting straight at goal, the taker went for an indirect variant which seemed to take his team mates a bit by surprise. M. Marcucci did attempt a finish, but from an awkward position, sending the ball into the away fans. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 17 minutes allowed E. Calosso to score for pcmr. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1. Meccanici's G. Steegen made an attempt at equalising 19 minutes into the match, coming in from the right, but the ball hit the post and the defence easily cleared the rebound. H. Wichlacz increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 0 - 2. The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but M. Paiva showed great heart and had a good game. At 32 minutes into the game, Meccanici's E. Barrera deftly knocked the ball home after an impressive run down the left, reducing the visitors' lead to 1 - 2. 1 - 2 was the score after the first half. Neither team was controlling the possession at this point in the match, with the stats showing a 50:50 split.

49 minutes into the match, Meccanici's R. Lixó maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 2 - 2. The rain made it hard for players like E. Calosso to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. After 58 minutes, pcmr's H. Wichlacz made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 2 - 3. pcmr had to make a substitution after 74 minutes. J. Lyse Hansen limped off the field and was replaced by F. Boran. C. Vozmediano spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. After 79 minutes of game time, P. Fontanari had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but R. Smernos was in the right place and tipped the ball over for a corner. The pcmr free kick 81 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of H. Wichlacz, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 2 - 4! That was his third goal of the match - a hat trick for H. Wichlacz. The players of pcmr now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. Meccanici's L. Klausz got himself booked for a foul. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Meccanici, with 51 percent of the ball.

T. Hautamäki performed admirably for Meccanici. R. Smernos on the other hand, had a terrible day. pcmr's top performer was clearly L. Romanato. P. Fontanari was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 4.