Rapid 3 - 3 Lukas (389413010)

34286 spectators had come to Monk Bowl this cloudy day. Oliver Stroissing was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Mário Rui Raio and Terry Finney. A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Rapid. The following players had been chosen: Bøgelund - Casajús, Folden, Nabichvrishvili - Norling, Larsen, Trasborg, Lundberg - Leong Kian, Routti, Nezirović.

Lukas tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. They fielded: Vaurula - Budai, Berg, Omoro, Kiilerich - Brokmose, Rebry, Kongsbak, Bryde Andersen - Gorena, Jansson.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Lukas. J. Gorena sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from C. Berg after 2 minutes of play, making the score 0 - 1. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 10 minutes, Lukas did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, P. Brokmose was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 0 - 2. The home crowd was given a certain amount of consolation when Ð. Nezirović scored after a brilliant midfield combination through the centre, reducing the lead to 1 - 2. C. Berg showed why he is feared on the counterattack, breaking through in the middle and scoring for Lukas after 14 minutes to make the score 1 - 3. With 19 minutes played, F. Jansson of Lukas fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. Ð. Nezirović did everything he could to get one back for his Rapid, but keeper M. Vaurula denied him with a spectacular block. Just a few inches to the right, and the visitors could have had a goal 27 minutes into the match. C. Berg surely wishes he could do that free kick over again. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 3. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Rapid, with 58 percent of the ball.

Rapid refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle, N. Routti managed to slip the ball home for 2 - 3. Rapid needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 55 minutes J. Nabichvrishvili made way for I. Jovanović. After 67 minutes, the defensive line of Lukas created a counterattack through the middle that gave C. Berg a good look at the goal, but his shot glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. The Lukas coach was visibly pleased with the score so far, but still ordered a few tactical changes 75 minutes into the game. Lukas's M. Bryde Andersen had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 79 minutes having been played. M. Gleitberg was the replacement. After 82 minutes, À. Casajús got through on the right and was very close to equalising for the home side, but didn't get the shot away. After 84 minutes, G. Norling made a dash down the middle past the away team's defenders to score the goal that made it 3 - 3. Rapid claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 58 percent.

Rapid's best player was N. Larsen. On the other hand, R. Bøgelund's play was disheartening. The most dominating Lukas player was without a doubt J. Gorena. P. Brokmose turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 3.