Reptilico 4 - 3 NANO (390836833)

Dark skies made the crowd of 61000 at La Madriguera a little nervous, but the rain held off. Peer Pedersen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Massimiliano Benelli and Jerry Gonseth. Everyone was excited about the upcoming Provincia de Buenos Aires derby and the crowd was divided evenly. A 5-5-0 alignment was the formation of choice for Reptilico. Lineup: Ashley - Ling, Teodoro, Garau, Čapka, Xicola - Øverås, Charro, Peralta, Luyckx, Horten -.

NANO had chosen a strategic 2-5-3 formation. The following players took the field: Matrone - Gitti, Salotie - Vancea, Cosma, Valkiers, Sanguedolce, Atreides - Krajnović, Scheimberg, Moens.

Reptilico focused on getting players in position for long range shots. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 6 minutes into the match, and J. Krajnović 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 37 minutes, NANO's N. Scheimberg swiftly ran past V. Teodoro and nutmegged the keeper! 0 - 2. With 38 minutes played, M. Atreides nearly put the visitors another one up as he broke through in the middle and fired from just outside the box, but his shot passed just over the bar. Reptilico succeeded with their tactics after 41 minutes faking a cross into the penalty area, but instead passing a short side pass back to C. Luyckx who met the ball directly with his outstretched foot. The hard long shot touched the keeper's finger tips, but it wasn't enough to stop it from going in. 1 - 2. After 42 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave G. Sanguedolce a chance to increase the lead for NANO, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 1 - 3. By now, the players in NANO felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. Reptilico were awarded a penalty 44 minutes into the match and I. Charro fired the ball into the net to make the score 2 - 3. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by E. Čapka. At last, Reptilico's C. Peralta was able to backheel the ball in. 3 - 3. NANO's A. Salotie got himself booked for a foul. A loud groan was heard from the fans of Reptilico, as E. Čapka left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. N. Jansson took his place on the field. 3 - 3 was the score after the first half. NANO enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 51 percent of possession.

With the clock showing 57 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of NANO resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by G. Moens in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. V. Teodoro held up a Reptilico attack after 64 minutes, waited until J. Garau was in shooting position, and then elegantly set him up. J. Garau didn't disappoint his team mates, and from a distance he curled the ball with precision to the right of the keeper making it 4 - 3. NANO had most of the ball, with 53 percent of possession.

Most important Reptilico player was J. Garau. However, F. Øverås made a disastrous appearance. NANO's top performer was clearly N. Scheimberg. A. Salotie on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 4 - 3.