Football 1 - 3 strokers (390058147)

Clouds darkened the skies at The Oily Rag as 34656 spectators turned up for the match. Paolo Dessi' was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Thomas Stene and Roland Wimo. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Football. The following players had been chosen: Zamberletti - Serrano, Catarecha, Johnsen - Valló, Sampaio, Trayanov, Mirga, Baadsgaard - Danhof, Hassert.

strokers decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. They fielded: Del Fiori - Rigoli, Ybarra Careaga, Cappellazzo, Talrich - Cannadine, Barrett, Dennison, Waters - Kristiansson, Matinaho.

strokers were relying on their ability to counter-attack. strokers's J. Ybarra Careaga was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 11 minutes. With 33 minutes played, E. Catarecha of Football fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. Football had a good opportunity to take the lead as F. Danhof came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of E. Del Fiori. 37 minutes in, strokers appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only passable. The visiting R. Barrett was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 40 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 0 - 1 was the score. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Football claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 60 percent.

The strokers players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a solid organisation when the game started again. Football put pressure on the visitors' central defence 48 minutes into the game, but F. Danhof couldn't find an opening. strokers's defence sent a ball soaring up the middle on a beautiful counterattack with 49 minutes gone, but R. Barrett's finish was met by the reaching hands of the keeper. No matter how hard he tried, F. Danhof just couldn't get his shot past the visitors' right side defence after 51 minutes. With 52 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of strokers resulted in a counterattack that set R. Talrich free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. strokers increased the lead to 0 - 2 as J. Ybarra Careaga scored from the penalty spot, putting the ball in near the top left corner. V. Kristiansson sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from J. Ybarra Careaga after 70 minutes of play, making the score 0 - 3. Confident in their lead, strokers's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. F. Danhof challenged the visitors' central defence eagerly, producing a good chance 72 minutes into the game as he went for a through ball. But, as so many times before, the guests' defensive efforts got the best of it. The home crowd were delighted when C. Baadsgaard scored with a header after an attack from the right, making the score 1 - 3. But did he use his hand? That'll be one for the pundits to talk about after the game, that's for sure! F. Danhof of Football was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Football enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 60 percent of possession.

The most dominating Football player was without a doubt D. Hassert. However, T. Johnsen made a disastrous appearance. strokers's best player was J. Dennison. On the other hand, A. Rigoli's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 3.