Royston 2 - 1 Bathelona (390052772)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Hadfield Stadium saw a crowd turnout of 43882. Tihomir Hajduković was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Arnoud van Haastert and Stefan Issa. Royston decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. They fielded: Rocco - Wirtz, Buck, Roca, Petersen - Abbas, Pelletier, Mina, Bevers, Svrčina - Lorber.

Bathelona had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players took the field: Tarasiewicz - Behnane, Bakhoum, Reinermann, Villanueva - Bone, Piuha, Ouwerkerk, Walentowicz - Mustakivi, Capozzi.

Royston mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. For their match strategy, Bathelona had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. At 5 minutes played, K. Abbas came in from the right with the intention of giving Royston the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. 15 minutes in, Royston's M. Svrčina received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. G. Capozzi finished off the counterattack of Bathelona from the left rather easily, making the score 0 - 1. Royston put pressure on the visitors' central defence 27 minutes into the game, but M. Lorber couldn't find an opening. With the clock showing 28 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Bathelona resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by T. Mustakivi in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. With 32 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, A. Petersen needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 1. Royston claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 69 percent.

A tussle 60 minutes into the match resulted in a penalty being awarded to the home team and M. Svrčina put the ball into the back of the net without any difficulty. That tied the score up at 1 - 1. Slack defending gave Royston a chance to take the lead with 66 minutes played, but M. Svrčina's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. After 67 minutes Bathelona tried to exploit their counterattacking skills, unfortunately, L. Villanueva's shot sailed wide after his break down the right. After 68 minutes, K. Abbas came in from the right, feinted, then sped past the off-balance defender to make the score 2 - 1, giving Royston the lead. The referee showed Bathelona's I. Ouwerkerk the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. X. Roca's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Royston, he bravely continued in the match. Royston enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 70 percent of possession.

M. Lorber performed admirably for Royston. However, A. Petersen made a disastrous appearance. Bathelona's top performer was clearly G. Capozzi. On the other hand, H. Tarasiewicz's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 1.