Hounlypower 3 - 1 Salxons (382888823)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 27464 at LA MANO DE HOUN today. Jean-Marc Baudin was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Maximilian Strieder and Danni Lippert. Everyone was excited about the upcoming Madrid derby and the crowd was divided evenly. Hounlypower had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. The following players had been chosen: Bajelan - Driutti, Radu - Bucovaz, Mulier, MacOmie, Donne, Ansink - Benito, Arruebo, Sáenz Treviño.

Salxons tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. Starters: Kolb - Ferra de la Mola, Alessi - Krzak, Prakapovich, bin Shariff, Morgant, Pereira Simões - Babaredo, Torras, Raig.

After 7 minutes of play, the free-spirited J. Krzak decided to go for goal as he struck the ball from the corner of the pitch. The ball hit a defender in the face and bounced out of play. Salxons's P. Morgant could have put the guests one up after 20 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but N. Bajelan was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. In a rapid move 22 minutes into the match, F. Arruebo of Hounlypower lost his man and passed the ball to the unmarked A. Benito who easily hit it home to make it 1 - 0. Luckily the ref didn't see him taunting the opposing fans in celebration - naughty boy! After 23 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by A. Benito might have resulted in another goal for Hounlypower. However, I. Kolb made a spectacular save. R. Sáenz Treviño of Hounlypower was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Salxons had a chance to level the score as P. Ferra de la Mola suddenly found himself free in the middle of the box with only the keeper to beat, but he misjudged the finish, and only managed to hit the bar. Things were deteriorating for the away team as Hounlypower scored another to make it 2 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for F. Arruebo after 31 minutes. Halftime score was 2 - 0. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Hounlypower, with 52 percent of the ball.

Salxons kept trying to force their way through on the right side and R. Raig got his chance after 48 minutes, but the home side's defence held their position and stopped the attack. The Hounlypower players could smell victory in the air. R. Ansink wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for S. Holter after 62 minutes. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Hounlypower coach let H. Heidingsfelder replace K. MacOmie after 65 minutes. The coach of Hounlypower was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 65 minutes, L. Aguillar came on for N. Bucovaz. With 65 minutes played, the Salxons coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. A. Agung came on, P. Morgant had to leave the fray. After 72 minutes, A. Driutti put Hounlypower ahead 3 - 0 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. When A. Donne left the game because of a back injury after 76 minutes, Hounlypower had to continue a man short due to there being no available replacements. 77 minutes into the game, Salxons's attack got through on the right, but R. Raig couldn't handle the ball and his feeble kick wound up in the keeper's arms. Salxons fought on and, after 84 minutes, J. Torras was able to reduce the deficit to 3 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side were finished off with an incredibly clever chip. Salxons had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.

Hounlypower's top performer was clearly A. Benito. S. Holter on the other hand, had a terrible day. R. Raig performed admirably for Salxons. However, M. Pereira Simões made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 1.