SCHMIDDI 2 - 2 Rückwärts (384512989)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 14779 had shown up at FC SCHMIDDI 09 ARENA for the match. Sandu Covei was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Anders M. Rotherberg and Mikael Mikkonen. SCHMIDDI decided to use a 5-4-1 set up. The following players took the field: Saarburg - Kytlica, Himmelsbach, Aydıntuğ, Winklbauer, Didenko - Pliefke, Winterstein, Herander, Lovriha - Płocha.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Rückwärts. Starters: Génovèse - Coe, Stawiany, Tobiassen - Girshovich, Barbar, Charbonnel, Kastanidis, Polhorský - Barut, Isoardi.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of SCHMIDDI. Rückwärts mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. J. Lovriha's early cross saw the defenders caught out of position and the alert P. Płocha was able to pounce and roll the ball past the hapless goalkeeper to score for SCHMIDDI. 1 - 0. Rückwärts players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. There was concern in the stands when, at the 28 minute mark, SCHMIDDI's P. Płocha hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. V. Didenko dispatched a majestic long shot 30 minutes into the match, but missed the goal by a few metres. Given a free kick close to the byline, Rückwärts tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let I. Stawiany slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 1 - 1, 31 minutes into the game. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Rückwärts's Y. Barut after 32 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 1 - 2 lead. 1 - 2 was the halftime score. SCHMIDDI enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

E. Barbar of Rückwärts was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. The bench was restless, and with 61 minutes passed SCHMIDDI's coach gave B. Lavigne the opportunity the player had been hoping for. F. Herander reluctantly left the field. SCHMIDDI needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 67 minutes Ö. Aydıntuğ made way for R. Frena. SCHMIDDI's Y. Winterstein put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 2 - 2 with 67 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. SCHMIDDI's R. Frena left the field after 69 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was F. Schirach. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave P. Isoardi from Rückwärts a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 72 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by SCHMIDDI, with 53 percent of the ball.

The most dominating SCHMIDDI player was without a doubt P. Płocha. P. Saarburg on the other hand, had a terrible day. Rückwärts's best player was Y. Barut. P. Polhorský turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 2.