Furoriel 2 - 1 Denoek (390293345)

The crowd of 33584 turning up at The Emperor's Court today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Alok Jamil was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Juraj Kutlák and Guilherme Carioca. Furoriel tactics involved an interesting 5-2-3 combination. Lineup: Cirueña - Bemelmans, Adam, Aurrekoetxea, Overwijk, van Lennep - Udvarias, Labadessa - Vasiloiu, Mascaró, Icoaga.

Denoek started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. Starters: Buruiană - Moana, van Loon, Laursen - Niklaus, van de Kerkhof, Pirozzi, Garrido - Kucharski, Thorogood, Gandu.

For their match strategy, Furoriel had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. Denoek seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. Denoek's H. van de Kerkhof gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead after 30 minutes with a superb strike from the right. With 31 minutes played, G. van Loon of Denoek fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. F. Gandu was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. 34 minutes into the match, M. Garrido came through the middle and almost added to his team's lead, but the shot went wide. E. Bemelmans was in the clear after breaking the offside trap following a Furoriel counterattack from the left after 35 minutes. His neat finish made the score 1 - 1. 1 - 1 was the halftime score. Possession in this half belonged to Denoek, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

A. Cirueña looked great 52 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' F. Niklaus. Furoriel hit back on the counter attack 53 minutes into the game with a free kick. Initially it seemed wasted, hit wide towards the wing. But there was an idea to it - the ball was then crossed towards E. Bemelmans, who was waiting for it in the box. That's 2 - 1! Don't forget to thank the set pieces coach for that idea! T. Laursen slipped and slithered in the wet grass. His usual rapid runs were nowhere to be seen today. Denoek needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 66 minutes M. Garrido made way for I. Rasborg. Denoek had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. 77 minutes in, Furoriel's E. van Lennep received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. In a fantastic display of determination, Denoek's F. Niklaus forced himself to his feet, after an opponent viciously knocked him down. P. Aurrekoetxea unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. Denoek claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 58 percent.

Most important Furoriel player was A. Vasiloiu. However, M. Overwijk made a disastrous appearance. I. Kucharski performed admirably for Denoek. T. Laursen was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 1.