MANS0N 2 - 3 malages (383074465)

19455 punters turned up at INFIERNO ROJO, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Ionel Sârbu was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Erich Knauff and Henrik Erlandsen. Fans of both teams had been eagerly awaiting this Andalucía derby and were doing their best to outshout their opponents. MANS0N tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. They fielded: Svarstad - Araluce, Bruce, Kraševic - Rubinke, Mandía, Buga, Esquerrer - Tommila, Vianu, Lafranconi.

malages started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Sutka - Tong Kian, D'ardenne, Van Thielen - García de Burunda, Coromines, Jinga, Avecilla, Abajo - Vúrbanov, Berkelman.

It was an obvious ambition of malages to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when N. Tong Kian was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 6 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! MANS0N created a good opportunity to score 10 minutes into the match when T. Lafranconi's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of malages's J. Berkelman after 11 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. malages increased their lead after 25 minutes when A. Vúrbanov broke through on the right, upping the score to 0 - 2, much to the home crowd's dismay. MANS0N refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle, O. Vianu managed to slip the ball home for 1 - 2. After 36 minutes, F. Coromines made a complete fool of himself when he presented the ball to the feet of O. Vianu who smashed it into the open goal for MANS0N. 2 - 2. malages took the lead after 39 minutes making the score 2 - 3. A. Vúrbanov placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. 2 - 3 was the halftime score. malages enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 65 percent of possession.

With 60 minutes played, the MANS0N coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. S. Virgadamo came on, J. Araluce had to leave the fray. The MANS0N captaincy was handed to I. Bruce. G. Svarstad kept the home side in the game with a magnificent save when N. Tong Kian delivered an almost perfect free kick to the far post. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, MANS0N's T. Lafranconi was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 70 minutes. A. Pérez Cruz was given a chance to change things around. The bench was restless, and with 75 minutes passed MANS0N's coach gave Ö. Baştimur the opportunity the player had been hoping for. V. Mandía reluctantly left the field. The home crowd cheered when, after 82 minutes, L. Jinga's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. malages's N. Tong Kian got himself booked for a foul. Some things can only be learned through experience, and O. Avecilla should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting MANS0N a goal with 87 minutes of the match played. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by malages, with 63 percent of the ball.

Most important MANS0N player was R. Buga. However, S. Virgadamo made a disastrous appearance. malages's top performer was clearly J. Berkelman. R. Sutka on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 3.