Leitrim 3 - 1 Eagles (389891869)

Clear skies welcomed the 56679 spectators who had made their way to The Den. Stefano Noordhof was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Felice Marano and Svend Sivertsen. Leitrim had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Buvarskis - Bermejo, Guri, Pairault - Wildeboer, Murray, Fairclough, Barr, 興陽 (Xingyang) - Grassl, Lachenschmidt.

Eagles decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Anifantakis - Renz, Prozorov, Sonius - Kreuscher, Rochford, Fagan, Kirwan, Brun - Bagnoli, Alvarado.

B. Kirwan of Eagles seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 0 - 1 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by W. Alvarado. Always quick on his feet, Leitrim's H. Lachenschmidt sped down the field after 31 minutes, but his pass to M. Grassl was just a bit too far ahead for him to get a good shot off. After 32 minutes of play, H. Wildeboer evened things up for Leitrim with an impressive goal coming up the middle. 1 - 1. After 35 minutes, Leitrim's H. Lachenschmidt swiftly ran past Y. Prozorov and nutmegged the keeper! 2 - 1. Eagles's opponents know to be wary of A. Brun's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 37 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! Eagles's Y. Prozorov's long shot really ought to have found the net 38 minutes into the match, but it fell just wide of the target. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to Leitrim, who controlled the ball 56 percent of the time.

Leitrim's H. Wildeboer saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 47 minutes. In the lead, Leitrim adjusted their style of play with 55 minutes gone. The coach of Leitrim was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 56 minutes, G. Kazior came on for M. Grassl. A. Guri was the new captain of Leitrim - handed the armband by the departing player. Eagles needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 61 minutes O. Kreuscher made way for D. Vivaldo. The Eagles coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. With things not going too well on the field, the Eagles coach made the decision to swap the positions of C. Sonius and E. Renz with 61 minutes played. As the game started to slip away for Eagles, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. After 64 minutes, G. Kazior put Leitrim ahead 3 - 1 when he rose to head in a cross from the right wing. The Leitrim players could smell victory in the air. H. Lachenschmidt wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for B. Meyer after 65 minutes. Leitrim had most of the ball, with 58 percent of possession.

Leitrim's top performer was clearly S. Murray. B. Meyer was a disappointment, however. Most important Eagles player was W. Alvarado. However, Y. Prozorov made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 1.