Dark skies made the crowd of 40000 at
Casa da Gaia Arena a little nervous, but the rain held off.
Rai Vallvé was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Pablo Alejandro Cid and
Paulo Ybema.
Casa had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation.
They fielded: Galdeano - Mendes Magalhães, Gavião, Ewert, Cnossen - Horoščák, Kohler, Sorge, Ślubowski - Zanatti, Vale.
deltree61 started off with a 3-5-2 lineup.
Starters: Tollefsen - Raposo, Morley, Basto - Clus, Mota, Valsecchi, Böhnemann, Santos Martins - Richet, Vodsgaard.
deltree61 used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings.
Given a free kick close to the byline, deltree61 tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let
Y. Richet slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 0 - 1, 23 minutes into the game.
Casa tried to even things up by sending a long ball towards the centrally placed strikers, but the visitors' defence got the best of this rather direct style of play.
33 minutes into the game,
B. Gavião finished off a Casa left wing counterattack, making the score 1 - 1.
The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave
G. Böhnemann from deltree61 a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 34 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient!
Casa broke through on the left 36 minutes into the game, with
J. Ślubowski firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 2 - 1 lead.
The referee showed deltree61's
V. Vodsgaard the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.
Z. Zanatti increased the lead for Casa 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!
Halftime score was 3 - 1.
Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Casa, with 53 percent of the ball.
The home side's
R. Vale came close to extending the lead 59 minutes into the game. His shot came in from the right hand side but
Ø. Tollefsen managed to save it with an unbelievable reaction stop.
Things were deteriorating for the away team as Casa scored another to make it 4 - 1 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for
R. Vale after 74 minutes.
deltree61 needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 75 minutes
Y. Richet made way for
M. Patriarca.
Casa had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.
Casa's top performer was clearly
R. Vale.
B. Horoščák was a disappointment, however.
The most dominating deltree61 player was without a doubt
V. Vodsgaard.
Ø. Tollefsen turned in a dismal performance, however.
The match ends 4 - 1.