Kaizen 4 - 0 Yalungur (382733185)

It was an exceptionally sunny day for the crowd of 43042 that came out to NK Kaizen Arena. Hugo Krüger-Kluge was the appointed referee. Kaizen had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Debelak - Kosmač, Fekolja, Sandahl - Vrhovčak, Župan, Belokranjc, Diestelhäuser, Denys - Intzes, Streleckis.

Yalungur tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Starters: Martinič - Simonšek, Veselic, Bernik - Adulović, Claverini, Pirc, Matijašič, Rožman - Ploj, Modic.

The wings were the focus of most of Yalungur's attacks today. The celebrations in the stands could only mean one thing - Y. Intzes's free kick had found the back of the net and put Kaizen ahead 1 - 0! A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of Kaizen to 2 - 0 as P. Denys finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. A well placed corner kick from Y. Intzes was followed by P. Denys's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Kaizen, the score now 3 - 0. After 38 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by O. Sandahl might have resulted in another goal for Kaizen. However, M. Martinič made a spectacular save. With 40 minutes played, Kaizen's Y. Intzes almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. The teams went for the halftime break at 3 - 0. Kaizen had most of the ball, with 58 percent of possession.

M. Adulović wasn't much help defensively. His energy-consuming forward runs proved quite costly in the oppressive heat. Yalungur's M. Adulović made use of his speed to get free of the defence, but he still couldn't get a shot off 59 minutes into the match. Having turned the direction of play quickly, the Yalungur counter attack ended as the ball carrier was brought down violently by a defender after 63 minutes. The resulting free kick was a flat shot into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and did not allow the opponents to reach the ball. The sun seemed to put L. Pirc in a great mood, and he showed off his technical skills all match long. The Kaizen players could smell victory in the air. R. Vrhovčak wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for L. Železen after 75 minutes. Things were deteriorating for the away team as Kaizen scored another to make it 4 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for B. Župan after 75 minutes. By now, the players in Kaizen felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. The coach of Kaizen was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 80 minutes, D. Messinger came on for A. Kosmač. O. Sandahl wanted to play on, but the Kaizen coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 85 minutes into the game by T. Sukič. Kaizen claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.

Most important Kaizen player was K. Streleckis. L. Železen on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Yalungur player was without a doubt L. Pirc. M. Rožman was a disappointment, however. The match ends 4 - 0.