Tehnika 2 - 0 OCTOPUS90 (382817637)

34258 fans braved the pouring rain at GRBAVICA. Theobald Rockenbauer was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Nuno Azevedo and Malwin Sewald. Tehnika had chosen a strategic 4-3-3 formation. Lineup: Tyras - Bille, Spampinato, Rodríguez, Dolmetta - Abizanda, Dongelmans, Zmysłowski - Guilbaut, Trifunović, Kohler.

A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for OCTOPUS90. Starters: Moldván - Haider, Rieder, Chee Tian, Queiroz, Kızık - Blaes, Hopes, Saridis, Begonha - Holmes.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Tehnika. OCTOPUS90 decided to play creatively. With the clock showing 9 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Tehnika resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by J. Guilbaut in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. T. Chee Tian was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. A. Kohler gave Tehnika the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 E. Abizanda was having a great game - if anything the pouring rain seemed to be spurring him on! 32 minutes into the game, L. Bille had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came G. Ficcadenti. Tehnika's R. Dongelmans saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 34 minutes. Tehnika put in a good effort on the right, but M. Dolmetta saw his volley fly wide of the mark 38 minutes into the game. The referee showed Tehnika's A. Kohler the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. OCTOPUS90's F. Moldván went down after a savage challenge, but could continue playing after some medical attention. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Tehnika claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 53 percent.

The bench was restless, and with 46 minutes passed OCTOPUS90's coach gave K. Mészáros the opportunity the player had been hoping for. J. Queiroz reluctantly left the field. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. R. Dongelmans squirmed through their central defence after 49 minutes, increasing the lead to 2 - 0. OCTOPUS90 mounted an inspired counterattack down the right wing after 52 minutes, but Y. Saridis was unable to convert from short range. J. Guilbaut unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. The visitors got a chance to pulling one back after 63 minutes, due to a defensive blunder leaving Y. Saridis completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side's keeper. M. Dolmetta could have increased the lead after 75 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. After 80 minutes, OCTOPUS90 switched B. Haider with J. Šparelić, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Tehnika had most of the ball, with 54 percent of possession.

Tehnika's top performer was clearly E. Abizanda. However, G. Ficcadenti made a disastrous appearance. J. Holmes performed admirably for OCTOPUS90. K. Mészáros was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 0.