Dragon 2 - 3 Dinamo (383787241)

A scorching day at Coloseum Of Ice, where 40155 spectators were in place for today's match. Roli Paulus was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Lionel Nicaise and Šimon Holčapek. Dragon decided to use a 4-3-3 set up. The following players had been chosen: Fidluš - Budiaš, Potočiar, Soós, Bahna - Gáborík, Lazík, Orolík - Kundrát, Fencák, Hyťha.

Dinamo tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Brauner - Viirretjärvi, Bertramshof, Lima Silva - Velchev, Marquéz, Ružica, Ambrosino, Rauhala - Reginato, Reyes.

For their match strategy, Dragon had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. The wings were the focus of most of Dinamo's attacks today. M. Gáborík's technique was perfect on this sunny day and led to some breathtaking tricks that bamboozled the defence. The guests took the lead 27 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in F. Reyes scoring to make it 0 - 1. Attacking on the wings was the choice for Dinamo, and they were successfully passing the ball from the middle to the wings to attack. Dragon played a good counterattacking move down the left 36 minutes into the match, with A. Orolík finishing well for 1 - 1. After 37 minutes, speedy R. Reginato dashed past his marker, making plenty of room for the second wave of attack. However, F. Reyes failed to score. The goal to make it 2 - 1 was scored by D. Fencák after 40 minutes, following an opportunistic counterattack down the middle by Dragon. It was 2 - 1 at the break. Dinamo claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 69 percent.

Dinamo levelled the score after 73 minutes to make it 2 - 2, as G. Ambrosino struck home after a fine midfield combination through the centre, which left him completely unmarked. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, Dinamo's I. Velchev somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for R. Reginato, who struck for 2 - 3. Dragon almost scored after a swift counterattack 87 minutes into the game, but P. Hyťha put the shot from the left flank just outside the goal. Dinamo had most of the ball, with 68 percent of possession.

The most dominating Dragon player was without a doubt M. Gáborík. D. Fencák was a disappointment, however. F. Reyes performed admirably for Dinamo. On the other hand, A. Rauhala's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 3.