DaLe 2 - 3 Mole (391264834)

9700 spectators had come to Monumental CF this cloudy day. Prokop Podola was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Felipe de Luque and Peter Tobreken. DaLe tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Crisóstomo Flores - Etchegaray, Cabello, Novoa - Hunt, Pezoa, Riera, Valls, Meléndez - Puga, Bolouri.

Mole decided to use a 2-5-3 set up. Lineup: Bischof - Palma, Francelos - Araube, Lunzer, Marchenko, Pantano, Jasina - Neau, Santana-Bauzá, Knap.

The wings were the focus of most of DaLe's attacks today. Mole decided to play creatively. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 29 minutes, Mole tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. 30 minutes into the game DaLe managed a counterattack, but I. Novoa took a soft shot from the left flank that was easy prey for the alert keeper. With 37 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. B. Santana-Bauzá put the ball away for 0 - 1. After 41 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave A. Pantano a chance to increase the lead for Mole, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 2. The players of Mole now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. 0 - 2 was the halftime score. Mole had most of the ball, with 62 percent of possession.

E. Valls of DaLe seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 1 - 2 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by J. Hunt. A corner kick created great disorder in the penalty area with a goal nearly scored by I. Novoa. At last, DaLe's M. Meléndez was able to backheel the ball in. 2 - 2. 2 - 3 was the score with 76 minutes played, after K. Neau cut through the central defence and chipped home a goal for Mole. DaLe's N. Etchegaray got himself booked for a foul. Mole's R. Francelos had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 83 minutes having been played. A. Perez was the replacement. V. Marchenko was handed the Mole captain's armband. With 86 minutes played, D. Knap 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. The referee showed DaLe's H. Bolouri the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. J. Crisóstomo Flores got a fingertip on V. Marchenko's shot from the left 89 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. B. Santana-Bauzá came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over J. Crisóstomo Flores but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Mole, with 61 percent of the ball.

J. Puga performed admirably for DaLe. F. Riera turned in a dismal performance, however. Mole's best player was K. Neau. Y. Bischof on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 3.