Pedersen 3 - 3 VESTERGADE (389465017)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 28511 at Hr. Pedersen Arena today. Janus Bruus was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Franco Bortone and Calogero Ciulla. Pedersen tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. Lineup: Benner - Kanstrup, Mülhaupt, Repanić, Drijfhout, Falch - Grafitte, Hollund, Irulegui, Strunge - Siegers.

VESTERGADE decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. The following players had been chosen: Vishnoi - Styer, Lunden - Kapzems, Łagodowski, Beato, Liekut, Caldas - Ady, Johannessen, Sansoni.

Pedersen were relying on their ability to counter-attack. VESTERGADE saw most attack opportunities on the wings. With 5 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as U. Falch flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. Players in VESTERGADE heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. 19 minutes into the match the visitors levelled the score at 1 - 1 as R. Ady struck home from a rebound off the crossbar, following a shot from the right. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, D. Sansoni got himself booked. The manager of VESTERGADE was not happy. The home side put themselves ahead 2 - 1 after 29 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from T. Kanstrup, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. T. Strunge of Pedersen received a yellow card after 39 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. One of many good crosses from T. Strunge on the wing was received and skillfully taken care of by N. Siegers, who scored for Pedersen. 3 - 1 The visitors replied 41 minutes into the game, reducing the home side's lead to 3 - 2, as W. Liekut dashed up the middle, easily lobbing the ball over the home team's keeper. Halftime score was 3 - 2. Pedersen had most of the ball, with 63 percent of possession.

With 53 minutes gone, Pedersen had a free kick in a decent position. Despite this being a great chance for a shot, they tried a cheeky move intended to bypass the defence. However, F. Grafitte did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. The visitors refused to give in and, after 63 minutes, V. Kapzems evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 3 - 3 After 65 minutes, the Pedersen coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving F. Grafitte off the field. O. Arnauer took his place. N. Siegers was handed the Pedersen captain's armband. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave V. Johannessen from VESTERGADE a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 66 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Pedersen made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in on the right hand side left A. Drijfhout completely alone with keeper A. Vishnoi, who made a spectacular block. 71 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Pedersen substitution. C. Marcu came on for E. Irulegui. Pedersen had a good opportunity to take the lead as E. Hollund came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of A. Vishnoi. Pedersen's L. Benner left the field after 79 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was G. Kocyba. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Pedersen, with 65 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Pedersen player was without a doubt E. Hollund. On the other hand, A. Mülhaupt's play was disheartening. VESTERGADE's best player was R. Ady. P. Lunden was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 3.