Münchener 3 - 0 Sportfreunde (384285243)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 45422 at Grünwalder Stadion today. Beat Wismer was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Mariano Milanesi and José Bonseñor. Münchener tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Nascimento - Pierce, Hurt, Holderberg, Olaru - Denny, Aparicio, Lagerpusch, Devin - Tudor, Orsini.

A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Sportfreunde. Starters: Schreuder - Altamira, Nikšić, Salaga, Weinbach, Bruinzeel - Klinworth, Saga, Eltsov, Gaye - Xavier.

For their match strategy, Münchener had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Sportfreunde. After 34 minutes Sportfreunde's A. Salaga contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. With 37 minutes played, E. Pierce of Münchener fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. After 38 minutes of play, M. Tudor gave the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. Münchener's M. Tudor had an excellent opportunity after 39 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Sportfreunde, with 51 percent of the ball.

With 54 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Münchener resulted in a counterattack that set E. Pierce free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. The counterattack by Münchener resulted in a free kick that R. Holderberg bent under the crossbar - 2 - 0! Sportfreunde had to make a substitution after 70 minutes. A. Saga limped off the field and was replaced by I. Sumryakov. A. Salaga was handed the Sportfreunde captain's armband. A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of Münchener to 3 - 0 as M. Tudor finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave R. Holderberg from Münchener a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 86 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! The player down was M. Bruinzeel. The Sportfreunde bench looked worried for a while, but in the end he managed to get up. When E. Pierce made yet another studs-first tackle after 89 minutes, the referee was obliged to book the Münchener player for the second time, sending him off the pitch. Sportfreunde claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 53 percent.

J. Denny performed admirably for Münchener. However, D. Olaru made a disastrous appearance. Sportfreunde's top performer was clearly J. Gaye. On the other hand, A. Salaga's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 0.