Imperial 1 - 4 PifiaNork! (391237822)

Due to an all-day shower, 4977 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Imperial Arena. José Carlos Inácio was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Frederic Aucoin and Ricardo Mateu Vilaseca. Imperial had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. Lineup: Epulef - Meyendorff, Villoria, Atenas, Moena, Jara - Adelsdorfer, Sierra, Mariana, Ceballos - Mistral.

PifiaNork! tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Holder - Ramakers, Fernandes, Muzalewski - Dziubek, Becerra, Villa, Echeandía, Asáwer - Premoli, Gunson.

Imperial were relying on their ability to counter-attack. A foul after 3 minutes resulted in a free kick. J. Ceballos cannonballed it, giving the home team the lead 1 - 0. A. Echeandía made a good effort at breaking through on the right, but the home team's left defence cleared the ball to a corner. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 17 minutes, L. Villa broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper. B. Epulef made a great block, though. With 18 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Imperial resulted in a counterattack that set R. Sierra free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. The referee showed Imperial's K. Jara the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. With 25 minutes played, the visitors could have drawn level after C. Premoli came through the middle, but his kick went wide. B. Epulef's name was chanted throughout the stadium after he made a fantastic save from L. Villa's shot from the left 29 minutes into the match. Imperial's counterattacks created a good chance for R. Sierra on the right after 30 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. 1 - 0 was the score after the first half. PifiaNork! enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 72 percent of possession.

Thighs bulging, B. Meyendorff charged past the weaker players, seemingly oblivious to the rain. PifiaNork! tied it all up, 57 minutes in, after a spectacular goal by O. Muzalewski, who miraculously broke through the home side's central defence, making it 1 - 1. PifiaNork! took the lead 58 minutes into the game, making the score 1 - 2 after some elegant movement down the middle. G. Asáwer was the scorer. With 59 minutes played, L. Villa of PifiaNork! fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. The rain made it hard for players like L. Villa to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. After 73 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed C. Premoli to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 1 - 3. After 74 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave C. Premoli a chance to increase the lead for PifiaNork!, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 1 - 4. The coach of PifiaNork! was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 75 minutes, Z. Oñez y Loyola came on for J. Fernandes. The PifiaNork! players could smell victory in the air. G. Asáwer wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for B. Jimenez after 80 minutes. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by PifiaNork!, with 72 percent of the ball.

Most important Imperial player was R. Sierra. B. Epulef turned in a dismal performance, however. PifiaNork!'s best player was C. Premoli. However, Z. Oñez y Loyola made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 4.