Xamaxpo 2 - 0 Sauber (384919246)

36182 spectators had come to Albert Gächter sucht den Superschlumpf Arena 04 this cloudy day. Ilmar Pärnaku was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Dino Puleo and Edilon Jónsson. Xamaxpo tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Gran - Kralčiak, Ercolano, Bing De - Torba, Rudenberg, Viehhauser, Buzetta, Ongüş - Natale, Pleinert.

Sauber started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Pizzichemi - Kukko, Kucherenko, Rusch - Díaz, Erokhin, Semai, Husár, Poyraz - Creţescu, Bartoněk.

This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when S. Kucherenko slipped through the defence on the right to come up alone against V. Gran, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning reflexes. Down the middle came I. Creţescu, making a fantastic play that nearly had Sauber take the lead after 16 minutes, but V. Gran preserved the tie. V. Husár of Sauber was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. I. Díaz has acquired a talent for predicting the movements of the opposing defence over the years and this almost resulted in a goal 25 minutes into the match. 29 minutes into the game, M. Bartoněk had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came P. Nouveau. Halftime score was 0 - 0. Possession in this half belonged to Xamaxpo, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

Sauber's I. Creţescu was shown a yellow card after 63 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, Xamaxpo's E. Ongüş somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for A. Natale, who struck for 1 - 0. A counterattack by Sauber after 75 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but I. Creţescu, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. With 85 minutes played, Xamaxpo put themselves up 2 - 0 when the visiting defenders lost the ball to L. Pleinert, who came up from the left and proceeded to coolly round the keeper and knock the ball home. Xamaxpo had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

Xamaxpo's top performer was clearly L. Pleinert. On the other hand, L. Bing De's play was disheartening. Most important Sauber player was A. Rusch. However, P. Nouveau made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 0.