Miliarder 1 - 1 Szproty (387286268)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 46436 at Kazimierz Górski Arena today. Sjors Tuur was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Daniel Carles and Paweł Muchyński. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Miliarder. Starters: Mpardis - Cadeddu, Kokoly, Barskiy - Cerchiari, Dakowski, Peri, Łokieć, Cadzow - Wenzel, Pevere.

Szproty started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Otýpka - Fauchon, Hakulinen, Chołuj - Wołczak, Czwojdrak, Wojtyna, Siegieda, Kleczka - Berbatovci, Dujka.

It was obvious that Szproty were using their pressing skill as their primary tactic. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 21 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from F. Cadzow, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. With 29 minutes played, L. Peri could have brought this one home for Miliarder as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high. Szproty were close to putting the equaliser away after 30 minutes as the opposing defence lost control of the ball to L. Berbatovci in a scuffle towards the left of the goal, but in the end the ball was cleared over the dead ball line. The pressing tactics used by Szproty were successful as the ball remained close to the half way line at all times. Szproty's B. Kleczka got himself booked for a foul. In a fantastic display of determination, Miliarder's C. Cerchiari forced himself to his feet, after an opponent viciously knocked him down. Szproty pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. F. Cadeddu could have put Miliarder up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 39 minutes. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave N. Barskiy from Miliarder a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 40 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 0. Szproty claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

The visitors refused to give in and, after 53 minutes, D. Fauchon evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 1 - 1 The pressing from the defenders made it hard for Miliarder to find any shooting possibilities, which was shown after 63 minutes when the hard-working defence blocked all possible shooting opportunities and eventually stole the ball. 76 minutes into the game, A. Wojtyna had a great chance to put his team ahead, but his kick from the left went wide. With 78 minutes played, H. Kokoly of Miliarder fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. At this time in the match, Szproty were using their skill at pressing to successfully stifle the game. Possession of the ball saw an equal split between the teams during the forty-five minutes.

Miliarder's top performer was clearly F. Łokieć. However, M. Dakowski made a disastrous appearance. B. Kleczka performed admirably for Szproty. T. Chołuj was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 1.