Aces 4 - 4 Fox.uc (391241131)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 14374 to The Number of the Beast Arena. Jan Erlius was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Aljo Denjalić and Rudolf Novak. The derby had been the talk of Metropolitana all week and fans of both teams could be seen throughout the stadium. Aces decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. Lineup: Rautavirta - Camaño, Concha, Manieu, Jurišić - Domingues, Landon, Avendaño, Dieli - Fichter, Orozco.

Fox.uc started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. They fielded: Ørnstrup - Orellana, Zarzalejos, Vallespir - Jáuregui, Moliner, Ussía, Ibarrueta - Roca, Foster, Margulis.

Aces were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. Fox.uc seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. P. Landon received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 6 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. The visiting G. Orellana was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 8 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 0 - 1 was the score. Players in Aces heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. The crowd was on its feet 11 minutes into the match, as Aces's U. Domingues found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 1 - 1 equaliser. After 18 minutes Fox.uc's R. Ussía limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. With 29 minutes gone, Fox.uc had a free kick in a decent position. Despite this being a great chance for a shot, they tried a cheeky move intended to bypass the defence. However, R. Ussía did not manage to connect with it cleanly and the ball went out. After 35 minutes, Fox.uc's L. Ibarrueta made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 1 - 2. 1 - 2 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to Aces, who controlled the ball 52 percent of the time.

Aces had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. 52 minutes in, and Aces were able to score the equalising goal to make it 2 - 2 when D. Jurišić picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. 60 minutes into the match, the Aces manager wanted to try a new tactic, and the players loyally obliged. With 74 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 3 - 2 lead as A. Orozco flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. The visitors didn't give in and, after 75 minutes, M. Margulis got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 3 - 3. Aces will have to do without D. Jurišić for a time, due to a bad foot injury at the 79 minute mark. He was substituted by J. Ahokoivu. After 80 minutes, Fox.uc's M. Margulis surprised everyone as he managed to intercept a pass intended for the opposing keeper and flip it in, making the score 3 - 4. The bench was restless, and with 80 minutes passed Aces's coach gave B. Roa the opportunity the player had been hoping for. F. Manieu reluctantly left the field. Fox.uc's A. Foster refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 86 minutes. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by R. Dieli. At last, Aces's J. Ahokoivu was able to backheel the ball in. 4 - 4. 88 minutes into the game, Aces had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to inadequate. Aces enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

Aces's top performer was clearly S. Fichter. J. Ahokoivu was a disappointment, however. A. Foster performed admirably for Fox.uc. On the other hand, R. Vallespir's play was disheartening. The match ends 4 - 4.