Malvern 2 - 3 LEON (382957762)

The 30355 fans in attendance at Mastersizer 2000 were roasting in the hot sun. Teodor Praxl was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Malte Olsson and Fredrik Molskog. Malvern decided to use a 5-2-3 set up. Lineup: Temez - La Riba Llera, Cansor, González Labarcena, Egaña, Burón - Company, Matamala - Cardena, Escarit, Bassols.

LEON started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Tonchev - Karkov, Demattè, Siméon - Eril, Monaco, Prediger, Valo, Deles - Alerm, Gorbea.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Malvern. LEON saw most attack opportunities on the wings. 13 minutes in, LEON's R. Prediger received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. F. Temez was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so Malvern's A. Monserrat had to come off the bench. S. La Riba Llera was handed the Malvern captain's armband. 17 minutes into the game, R. Prediger almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. Good work by the Malvern defensive line after 18 minutes produced a good counterattack chance, which cut elegantly down the middle of the pitch and found N. Burón alone in front of the goal, but his shot whistled just wide. In a rapid move 20 minutes into the match, S. Gorbea of LEON lost his man and passed the ball to the unmarked M. Alerm who easily hit it home to make it 0 - 1. Luckily the ref didn't see him taunting the opposing fans in celebration - naughty boy! Several players seemed a little dazed by the warm weather, and were repeatedly tricked by the clever and agile F. Eril. After the ball was lifted in from the left, J. Karkov was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 29 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. LEON's R. Monaco made it through the home team's defence on the right hand side 32 minutes into the match. After rounding the keeper, he only had to place the ball in the unguarded goal when a defender slid in and cleared the ball off the line. After 33 minutes, a counter attack by Malvern was converted into a decent free kick opportunity. However, the indirect free kick routine was easily anticipated by the defenders. A textbook example of how to defend a free kick - the attackers were left with few viable options. Players in LEON heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. Malvern were great at switching from defence to attack, and after 35 minutes, D. González Labarcena swept through the middle on a counterattack, making the score 1 - 1. It was 1 - 1 at the break. LEON enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 85 percent of possession.

LEON's S. Gorbea got himself booked for a foul. 64 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a LEON substitution. F. Badea came on for R. Monaco. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of LEON's R. Prediger after 73 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 1 - 2 lead. Malvern's B. Egaña was shown a yellow card after 79 minutes for slicing down an opponent. S. Gorbea of LEON had to be helped off the pitch as an injury meant he was unable to finish the game. M. Sanz Delfa came in to finish the match. A counterattack by Malvern after 83 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but D. González Labarcena, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. D. González Labarcena finished off the counterattack of Malvern from the left rather easily, making the score 2 - 2. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 89 minutes into the match, and F. Badea wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 2 - 3 for the visitors. The referee showed LEON's C. Siméon the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. LEON had most of the ball, with 86 percent of possession.

Most important Malvern player was L. Company. S. Matamala on the other hand, had a terrible day. LEON's top performer was clearly V. Valo. On the other hand, K. Tonchev's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 3.