Safenwil 3 - 2 Reeperbahner (384886365)

Dark skies made the crowd of 30130 at Striegel-Arena a little nervous, but the rain held off. Gavril Vãsâi was the appointed referee with assistance provided by José Julio Crespo Hellin and Stefan Adolfsson. Safenwil started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Zymek - Pfuderer, Saile, Lungu - Demoč, Zenkner, Spittel, Viñas, Urbanz - Motoc, Chiacchioli.

Reeperbahner tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Engflod - Liebermann, Finol, Dalen - Likov, Silva de Marco, Hansen, Etlin, Moletto - Saavedra, Dubief.

Reeperbahner immediately set off using their skill at pressing their opponents. Reeperbahner's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. After 19 minutes, Reeperbahner's S. Engflod fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! Some great play up the middle by Safenwil led to a chance for M. Motoc to score after 21 minutes, but the shot hit the crossbar. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave M. Motoc from Safenwil a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 24 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! 25 minutes in, Reeperbahner's O. Dubief received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 34 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from M. Motoc, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. A. Demoč of Safenwil received a yellow card after 35 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Safenwil solidified their lead at the 36 minute mark, as M. Motoc dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 2 - 0. Reeperbahner had a fair chance to reply after 38 minutes due to some fine moves down the left, but in the end P. Silva de Marco was slow to keep up with the play and was unable to make it into the penalty box to apply a finish. Halftime score was 2 - 0. Safenwil had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.

The Reeperbahner coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. G. Lungu should probably have put his team up another goal after 60 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by S. Engflod kept the visitors in the game. Safenwil's N. Chiacchioli swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball. In a rapid move 68 minutes into the match, V. Moletto of Reeperbahner lost his man and passed the ball to the unmarked O. Dubief who easily hit it home to make it 2 - 1. Luckily the ref didn't see him taunting the opposing fans in celebration - naughty boy! A. Saile got left behind when Reeperbahner's P. Saavedra made a sudden run forward after 69 minutes, finishing off with a neat strike. 2 - 2! Reeperbahner's V. Moletto made use of his speed to get free of the defence, but he still couldn't get a shot off 74 minutes into the match. After a fine move down the middle M. Pfuderer nearly gave the home side a goal after 78 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. Safenwil fans held their breath as N. Chiacchioli scampered down the left side. He successfully avoided all challenges and cracked home the shot for 3 - 2! As the game started to slip away for Reeperbahner, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. The Reeperbahner players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. Possession in this half belonged to Safenwil, who controlled the ball 63 percent of the time.

Safenwil's best player was N. Chiacchioli. R. Zymek was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Reeperbahner player was without a doubt O. Dubief. However, F. Finol made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 2.