TIF 2 - 1 United (385491297)

Dark skies made the crowd of 23067 at Tallhaga Bollplan a little nervous, but the rain held off. Maurice Esch was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alois Sivertzen and Conny Wurmser. TIF decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. They fielded: Ortega Flores - Crespo, Slaveykov, Beuchat - Vaahtera, Mužanović, Vanoverschelde, Åhby, Inglin - Helstad, Hoepmans.

A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for United. Starters: Laurent - Kowaczek, Vrtikapa, Braia, Giovinco - Cipollone, Palma, Haavisto, Vanhoorickx - Raba, Urea.

Many thought G. Mužanović ought to have been awarded a penalty 13 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around S. Laurent after a determined run through the middle. They were singing the praises of D. Beuchat 19 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 1 - 0 to TIF. With 21 minutes played, the visitors could have drawn level after A. Urea came through the middle, but his kick went wide. M. Kowaczek of United was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. G. Mužanović could have put TIF up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 27 minutes. TIF's D. Beuchat had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 28 minutes having been played. J. Cerraeta was the replacement. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 29 minutes, A. Urea broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper. F. Ortega Flores made a great block, though. A. Hoepmans could have increased the lead after 33 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave A. Urea from United a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 38 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by TIF, with 52 percent of the ball.

G. Helstad wanted to play on, but the TIF coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 69 minutes into the game by L. Schmied. The TIF coach was visibly pleased with the score so far, but still ordered a few tactical changes 69 minutes into the game. The home side's P. Crespo came close to extending the lead 71 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but S. Laurent managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop. V. Vrtikapa made a run for the goal 73 minutes into the game but the home team's left back managed to sort the situation out in the end. The TIF free kick 76 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 A. Hoepmans, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 2 - 0! United were desperate to get a goal back and pushed forward through the middle 78 minutes into the game. After a scramble in the box, the ball dropped to T. Raba, who smashed it home to make the score 2 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to TIF, who controlled the ball 53 percent of the time.

A. Hoepmans performed admirably for TIF. P. Crespo turned in a dismal performance, however. Most important United player was A. Urea. However, S. Laurent made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 1.