Midtafrika 5 - 1 #-Chelsea-# (389478008)

It had rained all day, but 23063 hardy fans still made it out to Timbuktu Dome. Tim Pfeifer was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Aristotelis Mintsou and Mats Klinthall. A 4-3-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Midtafrika. The following players took the field: Kanté - Bourdier, Kanaitis, Bartoszek, Matsson - Teodorescu, Andersen, Bryde - Engelund, Test, Ancsin.

#-Chelsea-# had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Bernard - Nyström, Versijpt, Sólyom - Kothrade, Jipa, Pastorino, Tomas, Grajo - Melosi, Sønderlund.

Midtafrika tried to focus their attacks down the middle. With 11 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as N. Engelund flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. R. Pastorino spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. Midtafrika put themselves up 2 - 0 when B. Bourdier broke through on the right, leaving the entire defence trailing in his wake. The visitors got a chance to pulling one back after 27 minutes, due to a defensive blunder leaving P. Versijpt completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side's keeper. G. Kanté made a brilliant save 32 minutes into the match, blocking a rocket of a shot from N. Sønderlund on the right hand side. #-Chelsea-#'s V. Sólyom had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 33 minutes having been played. D. Borg was the replacement. 2 - 0 was the halftime score. #-Chelsea-# claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 52 percent.

A speedy charge from the left side of the field increased the lead of Midtafrika to 3 - 0 as S. Bryde finished it off competently, firing in from an acute angle. N. Engelund had a hard time on the waterlogged pitch - his trademark technique was nowhere in sight today. 62 minutes into the match, #-Chelsea-# replied and reduced the lead to 3 - 1. M. Melosi scored on a marvellous cross pass coming in from the left. S. Bryde of Midtafrika received a yellow card after 69 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Midtafrika managed to extend their lead to 4 - 1 when L. Ancsin cut in neatly from the left side and struck a fine shot past the away team's goalkeeper. The players of Midtafrika now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Midtafrika's J. Matsson increasing the lead to 5 - 1. 76 minutes into the game, #-Chelsea-#'s attack got through on the right, but A. Nyström couldn't handle the ball and his feeble kick wound up in the keeper's arms. #-Chelsea-# had most of the ball, with 56 percent of possession.

Midtafrika's best player was M. Test. G. Kanté turned in a dismal performance, however. The most dominating #-Chelsea-# player was without a doubt F. Tomas. On the other hand, T. Bernard's play was disheartening. The match ends 5 - 1.