Rybnik 3 - 3 Kondrajec (387403304)

Clouds darkened the skies at Giggle Stadium as 24105 spectators turned up for the match. Julien Rivière was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jyri Sokero and William Svensson. A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Rybnik. Lineup: Garus - Michel, Myers, Batko - Zolotin, Ortiz, Comsa, Ziemiņš - Ubalde, Eriksson, Melis.

Kondrajec tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Canavesio - Wilms, Peralta, Vilčuks, Martinac - Łuka, Cech, Kütt, François - Skorus, Arrepia.

The wings were the focus of most of Kondrajec's attacks today. After 6 minutes, P. Ortiz made a complete fool of himself when he presented the ball to the feet of H. Łuka who smashed it into the open goal for Kondrajec. 0 - 1. A good free kick by L. Comsa would have scored the equaliser for Rybnik, had it not been for the dramatic save by the visitors' goalkeeper. Some fine movement on the left led to a Kondrajec goal after 26 minutes, making it 0 - 2. K. Wilms was noted down as the scorer. The referee showed Rybnik's D. Melis the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Kondrajec were forced into a substitution as M. Skorus couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing L. Pycki to come in off the bench. The home side worked their way through the middle and almost got one back when V. Zolotin tried to sneak the ball past the keeper. A. Canavesio was too alert for that! The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave J. Ziemiņš from Rybnik a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 37 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! A loud groan was heard from the fans of Kondrajec, as D. François left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. M. Bromka took his place on the field. The home team's supporters got excited again when J. Batko broke through the visitors' central defence and caught their keeper off guard, making it 1 - 2. A well placed corner kick from B. Cech was followed by M. Martinac's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Kondrajec, the score now 1 - 3. After this, you could see that the players of Kondrajec were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. Halftime score was 1 - 3. Rybnik claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

U. Eriksson charged down the left and looked sure to score for Rybnik 62 minutes into the game, but his shot went just wide. With 75 minutes played, the Rybnik coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. Z. Radosz came on, J. Ziemiņš had to leave the fray. 75 minutes into the match, Rybnik's U. Eriksson collected a ball sent down the right and put it in the back of the net, narrowing the score to 2 - 3. Boom! What a strike by Rybnik's U. Eriksson! Firing in from 35 yards after 77 minutes, that is probably one of the best goals he's ever scored! 3 - 3. After 78 minutes, the Rybnik coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving P. Myers off the field. J. Geisser took his place. 84 minutes in, Kondrajec's M. Bromka received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. 89 minutes into the game, Rybnik wanted to bring some new energy to their game. J. Michel gave J. Tomalka a quick hug as he left the field. Rybnik enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 54 percent of possession.

U. Eriksson performed admirably for Rybnik. Z. Radosz was a disappointment, however. The most dominating Kondrajec player was without a doubt B. Cech. C. Arrepia turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 3.