Blinkmaster 2 - 1 Spectre (387174764)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 78000 at Team 78 arena today. Rainer Büggel-Weiß was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Janiek Posthumus and Ville Äijälä. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Blinkmaster. They fielded: Maaravi - Uzeel, Pohjankoski, Stacewicz - Badrak, Chekodanov, Stecher, Battaglini, Cardona - Gardil, Sogot Uulu.

Spectre had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Polica - Gounopoulos, Zamfirescu, Babazhanov - Morev, Zhurovich, Dulatov, Shalkar, Mashentsev - Biddau, Valente.

It was obvious that Spectre were using their pressing skill as their primary tactic. Spectre's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. Slack defending gave Blinkmaster a chance to take the lead with 6 minutes played, but J. Gardil's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. 21 minutes into the match, Spectre nearly took the lead, as Z. Valente broke through on the right. D. Maaravi made the save, however. The guests took the lead 28 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in M. Biddau scoring to make it 0 - 1. Blinkmaster 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. After 38 minutes, Spectre's A. Morev fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! It was 0 - 1 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Blinkmaster, with 53 percent of the ball.

After 46 minutes of the match, the manager still hoped to turn things around. N. Cardona was ordered to assume a different position on the pitch. He took the place of B. Badrak, who in turn replaced his team mate. Spectre's ability to press all over the field frequently paid dividends. Z. Valente wanted to play on, but the Spectre coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 60 minutes into the game by P. Risser. A. Zamfirescu of Spectre was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. With a shot curled in from just outside the middle of the penalty area after 70 minutes played, C. Sogot Uulu of Blinkmaster made the score 1 - 1. After 75 minutes Blinkmaster's B. Chekodanov contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave O. Babazhanov from Spectre a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 78 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Blinkmaster were forced into a substitution as J. Gardil couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing S. Kovalis to come in off the bench. Blinkmaster fans held their breath as M. Stacewicz scampered down the left side. He successfully avoided all challenges and cracked home the shot for 2 - 1! Blinkmaster enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

S. Kovalis performed admirably for Blinkmaster. A. Uzeel was a disappointment, however. Spectre's top performer was clearly K. Dulatov. L. Zhurovich on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 1.