spinsteam 6 - 2 Bitous (385877458)

25476 fans braved the pouring rain at le dragon. Steve Gunton was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kare Vuola and Stefan Carlblom. spinsteam had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Frid - Skoba, Prost, Csányi - Mäntyjärvi, Bayano, Brenna, Riihiluoma, Strandblom - Nouet, Saenen.

Bitous decided to use a 3-4-3 set up. Lineup: Vandroux - Brailly, Richard, Fracasi - Royer, Abbas, Gostencnik, Barrios - Gratopp, Rossi, Verganzo.

spinsteam seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. spinsteam players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. spinsteam took the lead 4 minutes into the game by 1 - 0, as T. Riihiluoma elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. The home side's B. Csányi curled a free kick home after 14 minutes, putting spinsteam ahead 2 - 0. 21 minutes into the match, Bitous replied and reduced the lead to 2 - 1. B. Gratopp scored on a marvellous cross pass coming in from the left. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 23 minutes, B. Gratopp broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper. S. Frid made a great block, though. Bitous's B. Gratopp was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 30 minutes. M. Mäntyjärvi increased the lead for spinsteam to 3 - 1, getting a head onto a hooked ball from the right. The ball looked to have taken a deflection on the way in, but he's claiming it! 3 - 1 was the halftime score. spinsteam claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.

M. Mäntyjärvi had a hard time on the waterlogged pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight today. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. K. Skoba squirmed through their central defence after 67 minutes, increasing the lead to 4 - 1. 69 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as J. Nouet broke through, making the score 5 - 1 for spinsteam. At this point, it was obvious that the players of spinsteam lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. spinsteam's J. Nouet got himself booked for a foul. S. Vandroux's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Bitous, he bravely continued in the match. Ater 81 minutes N. Rossi seized on an opportunistic attack from the right, and scored for Bitous making it 5 - 2. Cheers filled the stadium as K. Skoba broke through the visitors' central defence to put away the ball to increase the lead to 6 - 2 to spinsteam. spinsteam had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.

T. Riihiluoma performed admirably for spinsteam. K. Skoba was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Bitous player was without a doubt B. Gratopp. H. Brailly on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 6 - 2.