AKPL 3 - 3 WhyNot (385855899)

Clear skies welcomed the 47127 spectators who had made their way to Kinder Dome. Taeke Vonck was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rasmus Skinderholm and Aebi Beckham. AKPL had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Lineup: Turkuš - Budinský, Fruit, Guillet, Fariñas - Henrion, Jadot, Dieux, Lebigot - Coste, Franchin.

WhyNot decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. The following players took the field: Bujnowski - Omsewitz, Piña, Calvez, van Ommen - Berthelon, Houdart, Miette, Gayangos - Koennemann, Ragngård.

For their match strategy, AKPL had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. WhyNot were relying on their ability to counter-attack. B. Turkuš looked great 22 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' S. Houdart. WhyNot were pushed back, and had many dangerous counterattacks. An impressive one came 26 minutes into the match, but C. Miette narrowly missed the free kick attempt that was awarded as a result of a foul. A foul after 29 minutes resulted in a free kick. G. Guillet cannonballed it, giving the home team the lead 1 - 0. With 36 minutes played, S. Gayangos of WhyNot fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. After 40 minutes, G. Guillet sent the corner kick right to M. Dieux who headed it sharply past the keeper. 2 - 0! WhyNot fought on and, after 41 minutes, S. Houdart was able to reduce the deficit to 2 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side were finished off with an incredibly clever chip. It was 2 - 1 at the break. AKPL enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 51 percent of possession.

After 48 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by S. Franchin might have resulted in another goal for AKPL. However, A. Bujnowski made a spectacular save. S. Bellance was called on to replace WhyNot's A. Bujnowski after 50 minutes following a nasty collision. 56 minutes into the game, AKPL were awarded a penalty that G. Guillet turned into 3 - 1 without a problem. V. Ragngård's lightning pace was too much for T. Fruit who could only look on as the WhyNot player blasted one home. 3 - 2. WhyNot had to make a substitution after 74 minutes. V. Ragngård limped off the field and was replaced by A. Barba. S. Franchin could have put AKPL up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 76 minutes. G. Omsewitz finished off the counterattack of WhyNot from the left rather easily, making the score 3 - 3. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by WhyNot, with 51 percent of the ball.

AKPL's best player was L. Jadot. On the other hand, J. Fariñas's play was disheartening. C. Berthelon performed admirably for WhyNot. S. Bellance turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 3.