Schwalbe 4 - 6 Oefening (390241876)

A scorching day at De Bietenberg, where 61394 spectators were in place for today's match. Leslie Weyerman was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Marek Jagła and Miha Benedik. Schwalbe had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Lineup: Magnetti - Julien, Chizhikov, Calbijo - Eedema, Klimeck, Jové, Blom, Kublar-Glueck - Abrantes, Lund.

Oefening started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. The following players took the field: Lezcano - Armengol, Vilja - Bakiera, Evdokimov, Vāgūzis, Ganahl, Züfle - Cami, Atar, Lanunziata.

It was an obvious ambition of Schwalbe to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. M. Ganahl had a good opportunity to give Oefening the lead as he charged down the right and struck the ball towards the top corner, but the home team's goalkeeper made the save. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 14 minutes into the match, and S. Atar wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. 16 minutes into the match, the technically gifted B. Abrantes of Schwalbe scored 1 - 1, having made G. Vāgūzis look like a complete fool. Schwalbe took the lead 22 minutes into the game by 2 - 1, as B. Abrantes elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. After a savage shot that could only be parried by the keeper, S. Atar demonstrated his experience by being in just the right place to slot home the rebound. His goal for Oefening 26 minutes into the match made the score 2 - 2. The terraces were silenced after 27 minutes when Oefening's Z. Bakiera put the guests ahead 2 - 3, following an attack on the right. It was obvious that Schwalbe had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. Schwalbe were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. With 37 minutes having been played, Schwalbe scored to make it 3 - 3. A dribble down the left wing, followed by a shot which took a wicked bounce off a defender resulted in the keeper having no chance. Everyone thought it'd been an own goal, but J. Jové was marked down as the scorer. 3 - 3 was the score after the first half. Oefening had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Oefening's S. Atar after 50 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 3 - 4 lead. This third goal completed a hattrick for S. Atar. The visitors nearly scored again after 64 minutes, but a superb save by G. Magnetti kept S. Cami's free kick out of the net. The Schwalbe players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. The home crowd cheered when, after 66 minutes, S. Atar's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, Schwalbe's B. Abrantes was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 70 minutes. M. Düş was given a chance to change things around. R. Kublar-Glueck was the new captain of Schwalbe - handed the armband by the departing player. The fierce heat made it important to save breath, and after a few swift runs R. Kublar-Glueck found it hard to get back into position. Attacking on the wings was the choice for Schwalbe, and they were successfully passing the ball from the middle to the wings to attack. 72 minutes in, and Schwalbe were able to score the equalising goal to make it 4 - 4 when K. Chizhikov picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. As the clock reached 72 minutes, Oefening decided to regroup. V. Evdokimov gave S. Cami a little pat on the back as they changed positions on the pitch. As the 72 minute mark approached, the Oefening coach decided it was time for a substitution. V. Evdokimov reluctantly made way for O. Kratochvíl on the pitch. After 73 minutes, the Oefening coach had a quick word about the tactical set-up and decided to try another approach. After 79 minutes, Oefening's G. Lanunziata made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 4 - 5. With 80 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed I. Züfle of Oefening to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 4 - 6. The Schwalbe coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

Schwalbe's top performer was clearly H. Lund. On the other hand, B. Calbijo's play was disheartening. O. Kratochvíl performed admirably for Oefening. E. Vilja turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 6.