Star 1 - 1 kuzma (382733336)

35703 punters turned up at Deep space 9 Arena, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Fabio Villouta was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Eugen Apostol and Giel Veraar. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Star. The following players had been chosen: Srebrnič - Ghannouchi, Bronstein, Hribar, Haklc - Oven, Zelenik, Srnjak, Košmerlj - Kriisa, Nygård.

kuzma tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Starters: Ortueta - Smolar, Krek, Sovák - Pezdirec, Wieghorst, Mussa, Pjevalica, Solares - Kristensen, Andrássy.

For their match strategy, Star had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. G. Mussa came close to putting the visiting team one up 6 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but T. Srebrnič managed to tip the ball to a corner. Good work by the Star defensive line after 7 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found A. Hribar alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. kuzma took the lead 33 minutes into the game, making the score 0 - 1 after some elegant movement down the middle. S. Krek was the scorer. Á. Andrássy was, after 39 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper T. Srebrnič made the save. Star's counterattacks were lethal to the opposing defence, allowing J. Oven to score easily from the right flank for 1 - 1. Down the middle came L. Smolar, making a fantastic play that nearly had kuzma take the lead after 42 minutes, but T. Srebrnič preserved the tie. Halftime score was 1 - 1. kuzma had most of the ball, with 74 percent of possession.

After 75 minutes, the Star coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving A. Srnjak off the field. R. Verhovec took his place. 78 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Star substitution. I. Benčina came on for T. Kriisa. 81 minutes into the game, Star wanted to bring some new energy to their game. P. Nygård gave R. Kašnar a quick hug as he left the field. With 89 minutes played, J. Oven of Star fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. There was concern in the stands when, at the 89 minute mark, Star's F. Haklc hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. 89 minutes into the game, M. Pjevalica was a hair's breadth away from giving kuzma the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by T. Srebrnič saved the home team that time. Possession in this half belonged to kuzma, who controlled the ball 71 percent of the time.

Star's top performer was clearly R. Bronstein. On the other hand, M. Zelenik's play was disheartening. kuzma's best player was Á. Andrássy. M. Solares turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 1.