Crusaderz 2 - 0 Hillary (386975081)

63673 spectators had come to St Albans Park this cloudy day. Māris Veispals was the appointed referee with assistance provided by José Ricardo Zarco and Anton Yuzpullenko. Fans of both teams had been eagerly awaiting this New Zealand South derby and were doing their best to outshout their opponents. Crusaderz had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. Starters: Headlam - Selkilä, Gilligan, Avitan - Meuleman, Reardon, Medcalf, Durham - Schwarzer, Sissovitis, Tandy.

Hillary tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. The following players took the field: Salazar Murillo - Selwood, Louis, Gerhardsson, Parkes, Macrae - Mendes, Pijnse, Guerdener, Huttary - Currius.

The strategy for Hillary was to use their ability to press. 20 minutes in, Crusaderz's N. Sissovitis received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. After a fine move down the middle R. Tandy nearly gave the home side a goal after 24 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. T. Macrae of Hillary received a yellow card after 32 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. After 33 minutes Crusaderz's S. Selkilä contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. They were singing the praises of M. Durham 34 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 Crusaderz. Hillary's G. Selwood got himself booked for a foul. Unfortunately for Crusaderz, S. Selkilä was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. H. Popper replaced him. With 39 minutes played, N. Sissovitis could have brought this one home for Crusaderz as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Crusaderz had most of the ball, with 58 percent of possession.

The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave Z. Pijnse from Hillary a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 49 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! With 50 minutes played, Crusaderz's R. Schwarzer almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. Crusaderz's M. Durham was shown a yellow card after 68 minutes for slicing down an opponent. A loud groan was heard from the fans of Hillary, as N. Huttary left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. M. Romero Leguina took his place on the field. After 70 minutes, Hillary switched N. Currius with B. Fulton, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. The score became 2 - 0 at 73 minutes into the game, when Crusaderz were given a penalty which N. Sissovitis blasted straight down the middle giving the keeper no chance! 77 minutes into the game, A. Guerdener had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came H. Holtrust. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Crusaderz, with 55 percent of the ball.

N. Sissovitis performed admirably for Crusaderz. M. Durham on the other hand, had a terrible day. Hillary's top performer was clearly H. Holtrust. S. Parkes turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 0.