Pordenone 1 - 1 Atletico (381953283)

Clouds darkened the skies at Pordenone Calcio Arena as 10248 spectators turned up for the match. Alin Stoica was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Pablo Casas Vizquel and Lapo Villarà. A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Pordenone. They fielded: Dobrică - Krzyżanowski, Zeuner, Hac, Rao, Crucianu - Hagan, Vanneste, Schwarzer - Płoch, Hansson.

Atletico started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Fantappiè - Agüero, Tabak, Schischka, Tarrade - Drugă, Sezel, Weijermans, Lavaud - Lengyel, Gullin.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Pordenone. It was an obvious ambition of Atletico to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. After 5 minutes Pordenone tried to exploit their counterattacking skills, unfortunately, R. Zeuner's shot sailed wide after his break down the right. L. Crucianu hit the corner kick straight to the keeper, but it was mishandled, giving Pordenone's E. Schwarzer an easy chance to knock it in for 1 - 0. The home side's L. Płoch came close to extending the lead 36 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but D. Fantappiè managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. Atletico had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Atletico, with 64 percent of the ball.

Atletico needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 60 minutes G. Lengyel made way for J. Wicken. C. Drugă caught everyone off guard with a great opening pass - but unfortunately M. Lavaud was as surprised by the move as anybody else, and managed to miss the extraordinary opportunity. Atletico's J. Wicken proved that he's been around on a football pitch before, when he took advantage of a few moments of confusion in the opposition's defensive line and elegantly scored for 1 - 1. After 75 minutes, the defensive line of Pordenone created a counterattack through the middle that gave L. Płoch a good look at the goal, but his shot glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. 76 minutes into the game, B. Schischka was a hair's breadth away from giving Atletico the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by L. Dobrică saved the home team that time. This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when J. Wicken slipped through the defence on the right to come up alone against L. Dobrică, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning reflexes. Possession in this half belonged to Atletico, who controlled the ball 71 percent of the time.

Most important Pordenone player was L. Dobrică. S. Vanneste was a disappointment, however. Atletico's top performer was clearly S. Weijermans. M. Lavaud turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 1.