Identity 4 - 0 Athletic (390051161)

65000 spectators had come to The Shaker Stands this cloudy day. Bujor Ionescu was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Sérgio Neves and Klaus Porse. Identity had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Barnaby - Meyers, Treacher, Amberwood - Coupe, Waight, King, Metcalfe, Avery - Smallman, Maskell.

Athletic started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Wunderwald - Fontaner, Bekius, Jena, Martini - Lambert, Danielsen, Antonelli, Salinger - Bogosavljević, Meulman.

They were singing the praises of A. Waight 24 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 1 - 0 to Identity. Identity solidified their lead at the 27 minute mark, as L. Maskell dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 2 - 0. The Identity players could smell victory in the air. L. Maskell wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for D. Flynn after 27 minutes. C. Avery left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 27 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. A. Nixon was the replacement. Athletic's right side looked dangerous after 28 minutes, as C. Lambert broke through. B. Barnaby continued to stifle them, however, as he made the save look easy. D. Flynn of Identity was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. After 39 minutes Identity's J. Metcalfe contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. The crowd roared its approval when B. Barnaby somehow managed to block a shot which seemed to be a certain goal by Athletic's R. Antonelli 41 minutes into the game. 2 - 0 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to Identity, who controlled the ball 62 percent of the time.

Coming from the right, J. Metcalfe almost managed to score another goal for Identity, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. The bench was restless, and with 54 minutes passed Athletic's coach gave L. Frazer the opportunity the player had been hoping for. H. Martini reluctantly left the field. As the captain was no longer on the pitch, J. Meulman took over the role of being the Athletic captain. After 54 minutes, Athletic used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. Identity increased the lead as D. Meyers struck to make the score 3 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. Identity put in a good effort on the right, but J. King saw his volley fly wide of the mark 68 minutes into the game. As the game started to slip away for Athletic, the manager decided to change the tactical approach. After 73 minutes, Athletic switched M. Jena with G. Vinci, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. The referee showed Identity's D. Meyers the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Unfortunately for Athletic, C. Lambert was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. R. Wallace replaced him. After 77 minutes, Identity's T. Smallman found the back of the goal with a beautiful free kick. 4 - 0. Identity claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 60 percent.

Most important Identity player was T. Smallman. D. Flynn was a disappointment, however. Athletic's top performer was clearly N. Bogosavljević. On the other hand, R. Wallace's play was disheartening. The match ends 4 - 0.