CASINO 0 - 3 Riesen (384305102)

It was an exceptionally sunny day for the crowd of 30122 that came out to Der-Berg-ruft Arena. Ireneusz Zgliński was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Oséas Moraes and Anders Bengtsson. CASINO tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. Starters: Miletić - Freudenberger, Brotzmann, Spottag - Tschentke, Stautz, Kückelmann, Lameraner - Claasen, Helber, Arco.

A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Riesen. They fielded: Castaldo - Mekelis, Hörning, Chukardin - Schiffner, Schuller, Reynheim, Mojecki - Evangelista, Widhalm, Patkós.

CASINO had a chance to take the lead after B. Claasen's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 13 minutes. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, B. Claasen got himself booked. The manager of CASINO was not happy. C. Schiffner had a good opportunity to give Riesen the lead as he charged down the right and struck the ball towards the top corner, but the home team's goalkeeper made the save. Riesen's goal to make the score 0 - 1 came via a questionable penalty, but D. Mekelis struck it home without a second thought. Some fine movement on the left led to a Riesen goal after 34 minutes, making it 0 - 2. H. Schuller was noted down as the scorer. By now, the players in Riesen felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. It was a hot and sunny day, and several players seemed worn out. Maybe this was why S. Tschentke found an unusual amount of space for his snappy footwork. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 2. CASINO enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

The CASINO players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. Unhappy with the result so far in the game, the CASINO manager used a brief break in play after 69 minutes to give the players new directives. B. Claasen almost reduced the deficit, having drawn the entire left side defence away, but the shot went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. Sensing defeat in the air, the CASINO manager directed G. Stautz and A. Brotzmann to change positions with each other. This was 71 minutes into the match. After 74 minutes, CASINO used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. As the game started to slip away for CASINO, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. The referee signalled a penalty 77 minutes into the game following an offence which looked like it was outside the box. D. Mekelis knocked it home to make the score 0 - 3. Riesen had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

The most dominating CASINO player was without a doubt J. Arco. On the other hand, A. Brotzmann's play was disheartening. Riesen's top performer was clearly B. Evangelista. However, W. Mojecki made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 0 - 3.