Sporting 1 - 6 Madreselva (383034822)

9413 fans braved the pouring rain at YOU´LL NEVER WALK ALONE. Kristoffer Hansen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Raimund Kempe and Octavian Diaconescu. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Sporting. They fielded: Palumbo - Gudelj, Ferrandis, Ramo, Zaundegi - Idiáquez, Rada, Almazán, Bosch - Falces, Cirieño.

Madreselva decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. Starters: Irarrazábal - Buch, Khasyanov, Quinteiro, Almeida - Shortall, Baker, Franganillo, Matas - Villar, Mendibieta.

For their match strategy, Madreselva had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. P. Falces spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. M. Palumbo looked great 7 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' E. Mendibieta. 11 minutes in, Sporting appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only weak. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 37 minutes into the match, and E. Mendibieta wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. With 40 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed R. Franganillo of Madreselva to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 0 - 2. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Madreselva lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. Thighs bulging, Š. Matas charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. Madreselva increased their lead after 44 minutes when I. Buch broke through on the right, upping the score to 0 - 3, much to the home crowd's dismay. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 3. Madreselva claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 77 percent.

A review of the gameplan helped Sporting get back to a solid organisation when the referee blew his whistle again. The boggy pitch disrupted the game, especially for technical players like I. Zaundegi. With 50 minutes played, E. Mendibieta nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. E. Mendibieta left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 58 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. D. Pflaum was the replacement. While defending the Madreselva lead, Š. Matas got a new role. 65 minutes in the game, his coach ordered him to change positions with G. Almeida. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Madreselva coach let L. Pinto replace Š. Matas after 68 minutes. After 70 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave F. Baker a chance to increase the lead for Madreselva, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 4. After 71 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Sporting found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to inadequate. After 73 minutes, Madreselva's S. Quinteiro burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 5. Still ahead in the game after 74 minutes, Madreselva made some tactical adjustments. I. Buch and P. Shortall swapped positions. P. Shortall wanted to play on, but the Madreselva coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 76 minutes into the game by J. Morente. F. Baker of Madreselva took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 82 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 0 - 6. After 86 minutes, R. Gudelj sent the corner kick right to L. Idiáquez who headed it sharply past the keeper. 1 - 6! 87 minutes into the match, R. Franganillo came through the middle and almost added to his team's lead, but the shot went wide. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Madreselva, with 82 percent of the ball.

Sporting's best player was J. Ramo. However, M. Palumbo made a disastrous appearance. The most dominating Madreselva player was without a doubt D. Pflaum. On the other hand, L. Pinto's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 6.