Nics 1 - 2 Volvian (388162085)

30565 spectators had come to New ZorganoDrome this cloudy day. Aharon Barak was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Vasile Răduţ and Gašpar Meškan. Nics decided to use a 5-4-1 set up. They fielded: Trif - Rosenlind, Åhblom, Baptista, Anderhall, Lien - Valet, Halttula, Renlund, Verlo - Métayer.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Volvian. Lineup: Söderström - Boestlinger, Vezentan, Fridbratt - Hartmann, Lehmpfuhl, Avramov, Boday, Nielsen - Torander, Pipek.

For their match strategy, Nics had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Volvian used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. Volvian's G. Pipek could have put the guests one up after 26 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but I. Trif was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. I. Trif looked great 28 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' A. Avramov. Y. Métayer was in the clear after breaking the offside trap following a Nics counterattack from the left after 36 minutes. His neat finish made the score 1 - 0. Halftime score was 1 - 0. Possession in this half belonged to Volvian, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

Volvian tied it all up, 47 minutes in, after a spectacular goal by M. Hartmann, who miraculously broke through the home side's central defence, making it 1 - 1. Volvian's E. Boday got himself booked for a foul. Nics were pushed back, and had many dangerous counterattacks. An impressive one came 79 minutes into the match, but D. Baptista narrowly missed the free kick attempt that was awarded as a result of a foul. With 80 minutes played D. Baptista almost gave the home side the lead with an unexpected free kick set up, but the visitors' P. Söderström was onto it, grabbing the would be breakthrough ball. What was A. Avramov thinking? That's what everyone wondered when, for no apparent reason, he shot a cross pass over his own penalty area, giving G. Verlo an extra chance, but unfortunately for Nics, he didn't get the shot right. The guests took the lead 86 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in L. Fridbratt scoring to make it 1 - 2. There was concern in the stands when, at the 88 minute mark, Nics's Y. Métayer hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Volvian enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 59 percent of possession.

A. Renlund performed admirably for Nics. However, A. Halttula made a disastrous appearance. Most important Volvian player was Q. Torander. On the other hand, G. Pipek's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 2.