Niki´s 3 - 2 HotStreak (385472487)

Clouds darkened the skies at Miljoonabunkkeri as 57335 spectators turned up for the match. Björn Brimm was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Emmanuel González and Svein Ek. Niki´s tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Nini - Młodnicki, Kaal, Thomasson, Binyamin - Burg, Gudiel, Vana, Garbacz - Arpiainen, Haughton.

A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for HotStreak. Starters: Arce - Matei, Mpachramis, Polat, Cipollone, Leclerc - Langenfelde, Ahonzo, Bilon - Woringer, Badea.

Niki´s were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of HotStreak. Niki´s could have put themselves ahead after 7 minutes but Y. Burg missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. Niki´s had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. HotStreak mounted an inspired counterattack down the right wing after 18 minutes, but S. Cipollone was unable to convert from short range. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 27 minutes allowed J. Ahonzo to score for HotStreak. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1. Players in Niki´s heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. With 35 minutes played, after a good run down the left, A. Thomasson went down looking for a penalty after a challenge from the visitors' right fullback, but the referee waved play on, and later warned him for diving. A counterattack by HotStreak after 36 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but G. Woringer, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. A well placed corner kick from K. Polat was followed by S. Cipollone's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for HotStreak, the score now 0 - 2. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 2. Niki´s had most of the ball, with 73 percent of possession.

At 47 minutes into the game, Niki´s's Y. Burg deftly knocked the ball home after an impressive run down the left, reducing the visitors' lead to 1 - 2. After a fatal mistake from the away team's right side defence 49 minutes into the match, an alert A. Thomasson bagged the ball for Niki´s, levelling the score to 2 - 2. It was obvious that Niki´s had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. 62 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Niki´s substitution. T. Ostružár came on for G. Kaal. Against a lesser team, Niki´s could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 62 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. With 66 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 3 - 2 lead as T. Ostružár flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. The coach of Niki´s was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 70 minutes, D. Bello came on for T. Vana. R. Gudiel wanted to play on, but the Niki´s coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 82 minutes into the game by P. Tognazzo. A. Thomasson's curling free kick almost found the goal for Niki´s, but the visitors' keeper somehow managed to get ahold of it. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Niki´s, with 75 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Niki´s player was without a doubt P. Haughton. On the other hand, T. Ostružár's play was disheartening. HotStreak's best player was G. Woringer. K. Polat turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 2.