Capitan 1 - 1 Dragons (382894232)

It was an exceptionally sunny day for the crowd of 29613 that came out to Yoichi Takahashi Stadium. Leroy Barnes was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alex Oostwegel and Egon Reichel. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Capitan. Starters: Etura - Chavdarov, Thorstensson, Hardin, Zhytnik - Kurschewitz, Edelstein, Bigiarelli, Gawrysiak - Paulista, Dykmans.

Dragons had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. Lineup: Nebreda - Fernández Casariego, Dutra, Albà, Lacasa - Pirez, Vasiljević, Avelar, Sanz, Compte - Penah.

For their match strategy, Dragons had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Dragons's È. Albà had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 12 minutes having been played. M. Larrañaga was the replacement. Q. Avelar was handed the Dragons captain's armband. Capitan took the lead 15 minutes into the game by 1 - 0, as W. Dykmans elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. After 18 minutes Dragons's S. Vasiljević contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. A. Chavdarov should probably have put his team up another goal after 20 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by I. Nebreda kept the visitors in the game. Dragons's counterattacks created a good chance for S. Vasiljević on the right after 21 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. 29 minutes into the game, Dragons seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a inadequate level of organisation. M. Larrañaga's technique was perfect on this sunny day and led to some breathtaking tricks that bamboozled the defence. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Capitan had most of the ball, with 65 percent of possession.

During the break, Dragons's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. The Capitan players could smell victory in the air. P. Edelstein wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for H. Widerdahl after 60 minutes. Undaunted, Dragons managed to tie it all up after 77 minutes, with S. Vasiljević's lucky free kick. The score was 1 - 1. Capitan's N. Paulista tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. Making his way up the middle 84 minutes into the match, C. Thorstensson almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert I. Nebreda blocked it to keep the score level. Many thought N. Paulista ought to have been awarded a penalty 85 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around I. Nebreda after a determined run through the middle. Capitan claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 71 percent.

Most important Capitan player was W. Dykmans. A. Gawrysiak was a disappointment, however. Dragons's top performer was clearly D. Penah. On the other hand, M. Larrañaga's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 1.