Hotros 5 - 0 labradores (382886398)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 50460 at El Nido Del Águila today. Francesc Cardona was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rafał Golański and Jozo Preradović. Hotros decided to use a 3-4-3 set up. Lineup: Vidal - Amigó, Bono, García - Badoux, Manzanares, Gelcem, Olivé - Cardaveras, Lowe, Carella.

A 5-2-3 alignment was the formation of choice for labradores. The following players took the field: Luna - Farnese, Anglès, Granneman, Barca, Bamberger - Feldmeier, Wittenberg - Antepazo, Oladi, Andrade.

labradores clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 7 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from R. Olivé, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. 19 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as V. García broke through, making the score 2 - 0 for Hotros. Hotros's F. Carella left the field after 20 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was P. Tibau. After 24 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as labradores found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to weak. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Hotros's D. Manzanares increasing the lead to 3 - 0. The players of Hotros now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. The referee showed Hotros's D. Manzanares the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. H. Andrade was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so labradores's M. Jauhola had to come off the bench. Hotros were given a gift! The ref dubiously awarded them a penalty 37 minutes into the match, which was neatly put away by G. Bono. 4 - 0 for the home side. After 38 minutes, Hotros's P. Amigó fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! R. Olivé had a fantastic opportunity to put Hotros up another goal 39 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. Always quick and a menace to his opponents, D. Badoux was very close to getting through after 40 minutes, but he could only put the ball into the keeper's arms. Halftime score was 4 - 0. Hotros claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 82 percent.

A review of the gameplan helped labradores get back to a solid organisation when the referee blew his whistle again. The coach of Hotros was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 60 minutes, H. Haverbusch came on for J. Gelcem. V. García was the new captain of Hotros - handed the armband by the departing player. The Hotros players could smell victory in the air. G. Bono wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for C. Brau after 65 minutes. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave P. Antepazo from labradores a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 70 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Hotros fans were dismayed when it was apparent no substitutes remained after H. Haverbusch's injury. B. Cardaveras of Hotros seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 5 - 0 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by P. Tibau. The home side's P. Lowe came close to extending the lead 86 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but E. Luna managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. labradores will have to do without Q. Feldmeier for a time, due to a bad foot injury at the 87 minute mark. He was substituted by G. Császi. 87 minutes into the game, labradores had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to passable. Hotros enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 78 percent of possession.

Hotros's top performer was clearly P. Tibau. C. Brau turned in a dismal performance, however. P. Antepazo performed admirably for labradores. A. Anglès on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 5 - 0.