CSF 1 - 0 Miguelitos (390858195)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 38633 at Mercury Stadium today. Stefan Kübler was the appointed referee with assistance provided by József Tuskán and Tor Knudsen. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for CSF. Lineup: Cogliandro - Salgado, Berggreen, Titolo - Claquin, Vihtonen, Belluccini, Pućkowski, Øglænd - Knott, O'Meara.

Miguelitos decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Boucher - Pérez del Cerro, Hölsö, Monje, Suárez - Argüello, da Igrexa, Mayan, León, Povill - Stoewe.

Going for long shots seemed to be the strategy in use by CSF. The strategy for Miguelitos was to use their ability to press. CSF were close to getting a nice long shot opportunity after 13 minutes, but the intense pressure from the defenders made the final pass inaccurate and the opportunity disappeared into thin air. E. Monje had a good opportunity to give Miguelitos 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. The crowd gasped as A. Argüello of Miguelitos was flattened by an opponent after 34 minutes and had to be carried off. E. Rodríguez came in off the bench. CSF made a bid to take the lead as a ball coming in on the right hand side left E. Knott completely alone with keeper M. Boucher, who made a spectacular block. It was 0 - 0 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by CSF, with 66 percent of the ball.

M. Pérez del Cerro would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. P. Fanfara entered the game for Miguelitos as the match clock showed 59 minutes. With the match clock at 60 minutes, Miguelitos modified their style of play a little bit. The pressing from the defenders made it hard for CSF to find any shooting possibilities, which was shown after 60 minutes when the hard-working defence blocked all possible shooting opportunities and eventually stole the ball. After 61 minutes, Miguelitos 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. After 63 minutes, the home side was awarded a penalty. The visitors protested wildly but the referee was adamant. C. Salgado easily put the ball away to give the lead to CSF. 1 - 0 65 minutes into the game, Miguelitos seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a passable level of organisation. Miguelitos's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. The pressing tactics used by Miguelitos were successful as the ball remained close to the half way line at all times. Possession in this half belonged to CSF, who controlled the ball 69 percent of the time.

Most important CSF player was D. O'Meara. O. Claquin was a disappointment, however. Miguelitos's top performer was clearly H. Mayan. E. Rodríguez on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 0.