BOYS 2 - 2 Vakiria (387324038)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 16780 to ARISA stadium. Pieter Corneliussen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Silviu Bãlãceanu and Vangelis Asvestas. BOYS decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. Lineup: Marola - Walzik, Leal Santos, Mezzolla - Cordero, Mponatsos, Nicolae, van Duiven, Vesserau - Gilardoni, Reviglione.

Vakiria started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Andrak - Danilewicz, Soumare, Boudier - Samun, Ortega Iniesta, Styś, Alvarado, Hang - Fudalej, Rehwald.

Some lightning fast two foot dribbles by S. Reviglione left C. Ortega Iniesta way behind after 2 minutes, but the shot was just wide. Making his way up the middle 5 minutes into the match, W. van Duiven almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert P. Andrak blocked it to keep the score level. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 13 minutes into the match left Vakiria's A. Hang completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. BOYS put pressure on the visitors' central defence 14 minutes into the game, but V. Gilardoni couldn't find an opening. BOYS 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. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave G. Cordero from BOYS a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 25 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! With 34 minutes played, Vakiria put themselves up 0 - 2 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was C. Ortega Iniesta. BOYS refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle, S. Mezzolla managed to slip the ball home for 1 - 2. 1 - 2 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to BOYS, who controlled the ball 59 percent of the time.

54 minutes into the game, V. Gilardoni came close to levelling the score with a dangerous shot from the centre of the area that went just over the bar. Vakiria almost scored after a counterattack 55 minutes into the match, but R. Fudalej took a shot from the left that landed harmlessly in the side of the net. Always quick and a menace to his opponents, R. Vesserau was very close to getting through after 57 minutes, but he could only put the ball into the keeper's arms. C. Mponatsos made a superb strike after 63 minutes with a shot straight in front of the goal after a long ball through the middle, but one of the visitors' defenders got a foot in at the last second and warded it off for a corner. After 64 minutes, S. Reviglione got through on the right and was very close to equalising for the home side, but didn't get the shot away. 71 minutes into the match, BOYS's V. Gilardoni maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 2 - 2. BOYS had a chance to take the lead after C. Mponatsos's dazzling drive up the left, but the opportunity fizzled out as his shot went just over the bar after 72 minutes. BOYS claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 60 percent.

BOYS's best player was C. Mponatsos. A. Walzik turned in a dismal performance, however. The most dominating Vakiria player was without a doubt R. Alvarado. However, P. Andrak made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 2.