Megasport 1 - 2 Ataka (388068827)

Dark skies made the crowd of 45170 at Mega Arena a little nervous, but the rain held off. Hans Hansen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Damjan Križaj and Bjarne Dannemann. Megasport decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. Starters: Paquay - Matiasek, Dobrov, Stojšić - Keylin, Marsán, Fernández, Löffelmann, Gianquitto - Jaroń, Abed-Hussain.

Ataka had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. Lineup: Decat - Pilich, de Carvalho, Piatakou, De Carlo - López, Reverter, Sévellec, Fredslund, Johnsen - Perez.

Megasport were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave J. Piatakou from Ataka a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 26 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 28 minutes, Ataka did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, X. Reverter was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 0 - 1. Megasport were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 1. Megasport had most of the ball, with 52 percent of possession.

With 61 minutes played, after a good run down the left, E. Dobrov went down looking for a penalty after a challenge from the visitors' right fullback, but the referee waved play on, and later warned him for diving. With the crowd on their feet chanting wildly, some great moves down the right hand side after 65 minutes gave Megasport a wonderful opportunity to level the score, and A. Gianquitto stepped up to the challenge. 1 - 1 L. Sévellec came close to putting the visiting team one up 72 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but E. Paquay managed to tip the ball to a corner. The Ataka free kick 81 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of X. Reverter, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 1 - 2! Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

Megasport's best player was A. Abed-Hussain. On the other hand, I. Stojšić's play was disheartening. N. Fredslund performed admirably for Ataka. G. de Carvalho turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 2.