GCZ 1 - 1 SpZürisee (384953618)

The crowd of 29292 turning up at Hardturm today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Giachen Renicker was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Sten Vinterbrant and Bruno Vigoureux. All of Zürich was shut down for the day, as fans of both clubs came to the derby. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for GCZ. Starters: Mammoliti - Kędracki, Rojas Marcos, Cassani, Vinigiu - Oudermans, Rafferty, Bielesz, Adami - Recabal, Gertig.

SpZürisee had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: Chabbi - Lentini, Westerhoff, Märstetter - Sá Coutinho, Stensten, Pluquet, Della Casa, Itta - Terrier, Lepeshenko.

It was obvious that SpZürisee were using their pressing skill as their primary tactic. U. Märstetter fired a shot from distance after 14 minutes, but the long shot couldn't find the net for SpZürisee. Some lightning fast two foot dribbles by L. Adami left K. Westerhoff way behind after 15 minutes, but the shot was just wide. The rain made it hard for players like L. Adami to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. The SpZürisee free kick 25 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of T. Terrier, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 0 - 1! The referee showed SpZürisee's S. Lentini the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. M. Kędracki did not have a good day today, often losing his footing on the muddy pitch. 0 - 1 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by SpZürisee, with 58 percent of the ball.

T. Terrier of SpZürisee received a yellow card after 62 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. SpZürisee's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends. After 65 minutes SpZürisee's P. Pluquet had to be carried off on a stretcher in agony. C. Hernández came in to replace him. GCZ needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 72 minutes P. Recabal made way for O. Martin. Some fine passing in the middle of the pitch, carving open the away defence, should have led to a goal for GCZ, but C. Gertig's shot went over the bar. With a shot curled in from just outside the middle of the penalty area after 77 minutes played, M. Kędracki of GCZ made the score 1 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to GCZ, who controlled the ball 51 percent of the time.

GCZ's top performer was clearly C. Gertig. On the other hand, M. Kędracki's play was disheartening. T. Terrier performed admirably for SpZürisee. C. Hernández was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 1.