Kuusela 3 - 1 Passo (385538860)

Clouds darkened the skies at Martti Kuusela Tribute Stadium as 23576 spectators turned up for the match. Wojciech Ostachowski was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Johan Falkenland and Corrado Tartari. Kuusela tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Starters: Ericsson - Bakkerode, Palmeira, Haut - Virag, Garrido, Matulík, Ménard, Laviolette - Valencia Dongo, Simlinger.

A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Passo. They fielded: Kraľovanský - De Benetti, Orsi, Conxo, Vainio, Silverman - Metsikkö, Iorga, Brightbill, Muratore - Lely.

Almost all the way down to the corner flag, Kuusela's E. Laviolette somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for H. Valencia Dongo, who struck for 1 - 0. With 35 minutes played, Kuusela's Â. Garrido almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. It was 1 - 0 at the break. Kuusela had most of the ball, with 69 percent of possession.

M. Palmeira struck a 30 metre free kick home 58 minutes into the match. 2 - 0 for the home team. B. Simlinger of Kuusela was able to make an impressive rush past the sluggish N. Orsi, which resulted in a goal making the score 3 - 0. Kuusela put in a good effort on the right, but M. Palmeira saw his volley fly wide of the mark 65 minutes into the game. P. Metsikkö was in the clear after breaking the offside trap following a Passo counterattack from the left after 86 minutes. His neat finish made the score 3 - 1. Kuusela's H. Valencia Dongo left the field after 88 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was A. Anger. Kuusela claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 73 percent.

Kuusela's best player was G. Ménard. A. Anger turned in a dismal performance, however. N. Orsi performed admirably for Passo. M. Muratore on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 1.