Brandenburger 0 - 1 Rostock (384488723)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Nike Arena saw a crowd turnout of 16357. Donatien Poulain was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Paul-Werner Hainbuche and Martín Verón. Brandenburger decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. Lineup: Nitz - Wasserbau, Maetze, Boudar - Vasić, Muurilainen, Urrila, Pålsson, Sparwald - Hochwächter, Riebenstahl.

Rostock started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. The following players took the field: Godarte - Tirado Vilches, van Oorschot, Teodorowicz, Heisterbusch - Scheller, Meyert, Łągiewka, Kopyś, Schauwers - Zandter.

It was an obvious ambition of Brandenburger to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. Rostock were relying on their ability to counter-attack. Some things can only be learned through experience, and C. Boudar should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting Rostock a goal with 15 minutes of the match played. Rostock had to make a substitution after 23 minutes. J. Godarte limped off the field and was replaced by C. Sumang. After 27 minutes Rostock tried to exploit their counterattacking skills, unfortunately, F. Meyert's shot sailed wide after his break down the right. Making his way up the middle 34 minutes into the match, G. Hochwächter almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert C. Sumang blocked it to keep the score level. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave S. Scheller from Rostock a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 39 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! 0 - 0 was the halftime score. Brandenburger had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

Brandenburger's C. Maetze placed the ball right at his teammate's feet after a corner, but G. Hochwächter couldn't finish. Given a free kick close to the byline, Rostock tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let J. Tirado Vilches slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 0 - 1, 75 minutes into the game. J. Riebenstahl of Brandenburger was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. 79 minutes into the game Rostock managed a counterattack, but F. Meyert took a soft shot from the left flank that was easy prey for the alert keeper. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

The most dominating Brandenburger player was without a doubt G. Hochwächter. A. Pålsson turned in a dismal performance, however. Rostock's top performer was clearly S. Zandter. On the other hand, C. Sumang's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 1.