Strohhutbande 2 - 2 Zahnfee (384519757)

18389 fans braved the pouring rain at Grand Line Cathedral. Abelard Flasza was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Frederik Suiskens and Manuel Klär. Strohhutbande tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Fichtenkamm - Amsuess, Tötje, Hahm - Knap, Mejías Valle, Shames, Caldeira, Wohlschieß - Semmelrath, Heuschneider.

Zahnfee decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Kavčič - Vinţan, Mazzalai, Knab, Borgdahl - Lorusso, Hefferle, Gnevers, Jacquet, Donner - Denić.

It was an obvious ambition of Strohhutbande to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. Zahnfee immediately set off using their skill at pressing their opponents. Strohhutbande had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. Strohhutbande broke through on the left 3 minutes into the game, with J. Wohlschieß firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 1 - 0 lead. Zahnfee's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends. A really bad tackle inside the penalty area 33 minutes into the match gave the referee no other choice but to award the visiting Zahnfee a penalty. H. Borgdahl knocked it home. 1 - 1 Strohhutbande's I. Tötje got himself booked for a foul. M. Gnevers was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. The guests took the lead 36 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in M. Denić scoring to make it 1 - 2. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, C. Jacquet got himself booked. The manager of Zahnfee was not happy. A. Schabhuettl was called on to replace Strohhutbande's J. Semmelrath after 40 minutes following a nasty collision. 1 - 2 was the halftime score. Strohhutbande enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.

Zahnfee's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. The crowd chanted their encouragement as Strohhutbande's T. Knap came in from the right after 60 minutes and put the ball in the net to level the score at 2 - 2. G. Lorusso neatly controlled the ball after a short corner, and knocked it on to G. Mazzalai who had the whole net open before him, but only managed to hit the post. G. Lorusso was having a great game - if anything the pouring rain seemed to be spurring him on! Possession in this half belonged to Strohhutbande, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

E. Mejías Valle performed admirably for Strohhutbande. D. Shames on the other hand, had a terrible day. Zahnfee's top performer was clearly F. Hefferle. On the other hand, G. Mazzalai's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 2.