GVAV7 2 - 2 Knaleend (390295652)

The crowd of 20048 turning up at Kardinello today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Tim Gonschorek was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Steffen Falck and Anatoly Vodopyanov. GVAV7 tactics involved an interesting 5-2-3 combination. Starters: do Couro - Brandstetter, Hammarbom, Torvund, Katzav, Dietze - MacQuistan, Tielemann - Ümek, Lanz, Manceau.

Knaleend had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. They fielded: van Wou - Erwich, Oostrom, Heising - Lenferink, Wennink, Lindhout, Doornenbal, van Lochem - Ooievaar, Hooyberghs.

GVAV7 were relying on their ability to counter-attack. Today, Knaleend's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 8 minutes into the match, and T. Ooievaar 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. After 11 minutes of play, A. Torvund evened things up for GVAV7 with an impressive goal coming up the middle. 1 - 1. GVAV7 showed their counterattack skill 19 minutes into the match by breaking through the middle, with A. Katzav scoring uncontested for 2 - 1. 20 minutes into the game, GVAV7 had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to inadequate. A. Dietze slipped and slithered in the wet grass. His usual rapid runs were nowhere to be seen today. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. Knaleend claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 68 percent.

The GVAV7 players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a solid organisation when the game started again. Knaleend had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. B. Hooyberghs made a run for the goal 53 minutes into the game but the home team's left back managed to sort the situation out in the end. The rain made it hard for players like A. Katzav to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. As C. Manceau had, completely unprovoked, swept the legs out from under an opponent in front of a linesman, the referee gave the GVAV7 player a red card without batting an eyelid. After 67 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as GVAV7 found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to weak. Knaleend had a chance to level the score as B. Hooyberghs suddenly found himself free in the middle of the box with only the keeper to beat, but he misjudged the finish, and only managed to hit the bar. The visitors refused to give in and, after 71 minutes, H. Lindhout evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 2 - 2 73 minutes in, GVAV7's O. Ümek received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The guests almost went up by a goal after 76 minutes when R. van Lochem came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. After 77 minutes, GVAV7 were awarded a free kick as their counter attack broke down. The set piece was lifted over the top, intended to open up the defence. However, the target man seemed to be taken by surprise, and could not reach the ball before it crossed the line for a goal kick. Knaleend enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 75 percent of possession.

GVAV7's best player was B. Tielemann. On the other hand, V. do Couro's play was disheartening. Most important Knaleend player was G. Wennink. G. Heising turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 2.