Elefanten 0 - 3 Hagenthal (387539375)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 16822 to Elefanten Boys Arena. Orfeo Nutelet was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Max-Emile De Reymaeker and Andrea Amiotti. Fans of both teams had been eagerly awaiting this Niederösterreich derby and were doing their best to outshout their opponents. Elefanten decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. The following players took the field: Demkó - Kristoffersen, Petcu, Adam, Tarnanen - Rundquist, Kolnes, Vespa, Rochafrida - Lerche, Kiev.

Hagenthal tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Starters: Papst - Freitag, Auer, Wrolich - Cosatabella, Prechtl, Heidegger, Fitzgibbon, Ferrière - Hahn, Alfano.

6 minutes into the game, G. Alfano was a hair's breadth away from giving Hagenthal the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by O. Demkó saved the home team that time. Hagenthal's S. Hahn could have put the guests one up after 16 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but O. Demkó was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. The guests took the lead 17 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in G. Alfano scoring to make it 0 - 1. After 22 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave E. Fitzgibbon a chance to increase the lead for Hagenthal, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 2. L. Adam received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 34 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. Elefanten's A. Kolnes was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 35 minutes. It was 0 - 2 at the break. Hagenthal enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 67 percent of possession.

As usual, F. Rochafrida tried to use his strength and hard work for the benefit of the team, but the heat hit him hard and he couldn't keep pace at all. Hagenthal increased the lead to 0 - 3 as H. Ferrière scored from the penalty spot, putting the ball in near the top left corner. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Hagenthal lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. It was a hot and sunny day, and several players seemed worn out. Maybe this was why L. Lerche found an unusual amount of space for his snappy footwork. After 75 minutes, L. Lerche had a good opportunity to reduce the scoreline for Elefanten with a chance created through the middle, but wasn't cool enough. The ball went miles over the bar. M. Gärtner was called on to replace Hagenthal's R. Cosatabella after 76 minutes following a nasty collision. P. Heidegger was, after 79 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper O. Demkó made the save. After the ball was lifted in from the left, M. Gärtner was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 81 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. Possession in this half belonged to Hagenthal, who controlled the ball 66 percent of the time.

Elefanten's top performer was clearly H. Kiev. F. Rochafrida on the other hand, had a terrible day. Hagenthal's best player was O. Prechtl. On the other hand, M. Gärtner's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 3.