Eleven 1 - 1 United (390051534)

Due to an all-day shower, 43234 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at The Green. Jankelis Rožaitis was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Edvīns Spēkavīrs and Andrea Parigi. Eleven tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Turner - Badar, Rivergate - Shewan, Roberts, Iredell, Shugars, Johnson - Gardner, Oswald, Andrews.

A 4-3-3 alignment was the formation of choice for United. They fielded: Barbarà - March, Schlachtensee, Jeffries, Biddle - Castellauli, Kuusi, Nojonen - Sveum, David, Okuku.

For their match strategy, United had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. S. Oswald, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. 23 minutes into the game, United seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a passable level of organisation. J. Iredell sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from M. Badar after 32 minutes of play, making the score 1 - 0. E. Jeffries was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. 42 minutes into the match the visitors levelled the score at 1 - 1 as E. Jeffries struck home from a rebound off the crossbar, following a shot from the right. Eleven made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in on the right hand side left M. Andrews completely alone with keeper A. Barbarà, who made a spectacular block. There was concern in the stands when, at the 44 minute mark, United's I. Kuusi hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. Eleven had most of the ball, with 81 percent of possession.

The United players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a solid organisation when the game started again. Eleven will have to do without D. Shewan for a time, due to a bad foot injury at the 57 minute mark. He was substituted by E. Tyas. Eleven could have put themselves ahead after 58 minutes but M. Andrews missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. With the clock showing 62 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of United resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by D. David in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. Some great play up the middle by Eleven led to a chance for M. Andrews to score after 76 minutes, but the shot hit the crossbar. Eleven were very close to putting themselves one up after 83 minutes as M. Andrews got through on the left, but failing in concentration, he shot the ball wide. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave D. David from United a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 86 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Eleven were forced into a substitution as C. Roberts couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing D. Smith to come in off the bench. Eleven's E. Tyas tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. Eleven claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 79 percent.

The most dominating Eleven player was without a doubt M. Andrews. E. Tyas on the other hand, had a terrible day. United's best player was G. Okuku. D. Schlachtensee turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 1.