Gooners 0 - 3 TheLodge (390065376)

46943 spectators had come to Arsene Wengers Magic Hat this cloudy day. Radovan Mihić was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Vairaj Garg and Zbigniew Rodak. Gooners tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. The following players took the field: Panejko - Reňak, Rimbaud, Uddgård, Comor - Lungarella, Bôcas, Katzengruber, Jurd, Puncernau - Dzidt.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for TheLodge. Starters: Čaplja - Tramutoli, Zavala, Puda - Poeschl, Soler, Rosflod, Tumini, Fogelquist - Bergenhenegouwen, Soguel.

Today, Gooners's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. TheLodge had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 20 minutes in when V. Soguel came up alone against A. Panejko who managed a block. 21 minutes in, Gooners appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only inadequate. The guests took the lead 37 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in V. Soguel scoring to make it 0 - 1. A defender managed to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line after a curling shot coming in from the right from W. Puda after 40 minutes, and prevented TheLodge from going up another goal. TheLodge's L. Bergenhenegouwen was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 41 minutes. 0 - 1 was the score after the first half. TheLodge had most of the ball, with 69 percent of possession.

The Gooners players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a solid organisation when the game started again. D. Tramutoli received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 59 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 2. The TheLodge fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. After 62 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Gooners found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to weak. The bench was restless, and with 67 minutes passed Gooners's coach gave F. Bucurică the opportunity the player had been hoping for. S. Reňak reluctantly left the field. A well placed corner kick from C. Tumini was followed by J. Rosflod's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for TheLodge, the score now 0 - 3. Unsportsmanlike behaviour by L. Bergenhenegouwen rendered him his second booking of the match, and TheLodge had to finish the game with a reduced squad. With 74 minutes played, the Gooners coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. P. Luk came on, S. Dzidt had to leave the fray. TheLodge's D. Tramutoli was shown a yellow card after 76 minutes for slicing down an opponent. A loud groan was heard from the fans of Gooners, as A. Panejko left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. D. Innes took his place on the field. 86 minutes in, TheLodge's F. Soler received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Just a few inches to the right, and the visitors could have had a goal 88 minutes into the match. C. Tumini surely wishes he could do that free kick over again. TheLodge claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 71 percent.

Gooners's top performer was clearly P. Luk. S. Katzengruber on the other hand, had a terrible day. TheLodge's best player was C. Tumini. E. Poeschl turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 0 - 3.