KOLLETTIVO 0 - 2 forever (381909222)

The crowd of 20928 turning up at KOLLETTIVO ALKOOLIKO STADIUM TARANTO today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Janne Vintertorp was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Valerio Grilli and Andreas Gunnarsson. KOLLETTIVO tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Mollica - Bošnjak, Svensson, Persson - Nixon, Holtenlund, Paoli, Collelldemont - Manegatti, Gaviraghi, Boradosso.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for forever. Lineup: Riopi - Meoni, Milenov, Vonsild - Vellutini, Brogli, Jandot, Gosiewski, Alderete - Mencattini, Scrobe.

Today, KOLLETTIVO's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. forever's M. Scrobe has the wonderful ability to create chances out of thin air. 27 minutes into the match he bamboozled a couple of opposition defenders before sending the keeper the wrong way and sidefooting the ball home into an empty net. That totally unexpected burst of flair made it 0 - 1. N. Gaviraghi charged down the left and had a wonderful opportunity to score the equaliser for KOLLETTIVO, but the shot went well wide of the goal. The rain made it hard for players like J. Vonsild to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. K. Brogli could have put his team up another goal 38 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Possession was split evenly between the teams.

KOLLETTIVO's N. Gaviraghi had a hard, curved free kick after 49 minutes that would have paid off, had it gone just a little lower. No matter how hard he tried, M. Holtenlund just couldn't get his shot past the visitors' right side defence after 57 minutes. KOLLETTIVO's P. Nixon got himself booked for a foul. Content with how the game was proceeding, the forever coach let V. Caspersen replace P. Alderete after 70 minutes. The forever players could smell victory in the air. J. Vonsild wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for P. Cervellone after 70 minutes. Thighs bulging, M. Collelldemont charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. C. Jandot left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 77 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. B. Danès was the replacement. forever's A. Mencattini made it through the home team's defence on the right hand side 84 minutes into the match. After rounding the keeper, he only had to place the ball in the unguarded goal when a defender slid in and cleared the ball off the line. After 86 minutes, forever's A. Mencattini burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 2. forever enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 51 percent of possession.

Most important KOLLETTIVO player was P. Paoli. E. Boradosso turned in a dismal performance, however. forever's best player was A. Mencattini. However, M. Riopi made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 0 - 2.