Lazika 3 - 0 sanavardo2 (388871314)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 35028 at FC Lazika Arena today. Donald van der Veer was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Paweł Dobek and Josip Beretin. Lazika decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. Starters: Isasbiril - Bilicz, Tew, Lapuente Mínguez, Doodbleven - Relave, Rosenberg, Zelenetskiy, Rafael, Schwaiger - Matikka.

A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for sanavardo2. They fielded: Simonishvili - Loth, Gual, Tiroler, Karlsson - Schadt, González, Bellantone, Lovisi - Melkadze, Lima Rosa.

Pressing was the tactic of the day for sanavardo2. sanavardo2 pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. 18 minutes into the match and the home team took a 1 - 0 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for Lazika was V. Matikka. A penalty 19 minutes into the game gave the home side a chance at adding to the score, but an overconfident Ł. Bilicz shot the ball wide trying to put it away in the top corner. Lazika's V. Matikka saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 21 minutes. It was 1 - 0 at the break. Lazika claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 59 percent.

Coming from the right, B. Rafael almost managed to score another goal for Lazika, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. A. Zelenetskiy increased the lead for Lazika to 2 - 0, getting a head onto a hooked ball from the right. The ball looked to have taken a deflection on the way in, but he's claiming it! The Lazika players could smell victory in the air. Z. Rosenberg wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for L. Vasilev after 60 minutes. After 62 minutes, V. Matikka put Lazika ahead 3 - 0 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. Confident in their lead, Lazika's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. With 73 minutes played, the sanavardo2 coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. S. Hartkamp came on, J. Karlsson had to leave the fray. 75 minutes into the game, C. Loth had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came A. Avron. A. Zelenetskiy behaved like an inexperienced youth player after 77 minutes as he gave the ball away to G. Lovisi. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. sanavardo2 needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 79 minutes C. Tiroler made way for S. Oskarsson. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Lazika coach let A. Mikolajčík replace C. Schwaiger after 80 minutes. After 82 minutes, a couple of quick and successful challenges followed by a shot from just outside the penalty area by A. Tew might have resulted in another goal for Lazika. However, S. Simonishvili made a spectacular save. 84 minutes into the game, sanavardo2 had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to passable. There was concern in the stands when, at the 86 minute mark, Lazika's A. Mikolajčík hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Possession in this half belonged to Lazika, who controlled the ball 68 percent of the time.

Lazika's top performer was clearly V. Matikka. A. Zelenetskiy was a disappointment, however. sanavardo2's best player was S. Melkadze. A. Avron turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 0.