Spocker 3 - 1 Dragons (392023431)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 68258 at Excellus SpockerDome today. Ingemar Mossjö was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Dolf Wunderwald and Reinhold Thumberg. Spocker started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Gyllenwald - Guy, Stanford - Nabiałczyk, Galjé, Davis, Dodd, Guţă - Andrew, Grosaras, Rosenberg.

Dragons tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. The following players took the field: Vähätalo - Pontone, Gravier, Pihanperä, Steenman - Vercruysse, Queiró, Álmos, Villa, Sanoy - Kezić.

Dragons were relying on their ability to counter-attack. Boom! What a strike by Spocker's R. Andrew! Firing in from 35 yards after 10 minutes, that is probably one of the best goals he's ever scored! 1 - 0. Cheers filled the stadium as R. Andrew broke through the visitors' central defence to put away the ball to increase the lead to 2 - 0 to Spocker. Dragons were great at switching from defence to attack, and after 38 minutes, M. Kezić swept through the middle on a counterattack, making the score 2 - 1. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. Spocker had most of the ball, with 55 percent of possession.

With 49 minutes played, Spocker's R. Andrew almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. The crowd was amused as M. Kezić of Dragons used a few interesting tricks and dribbles to get into the penalty box. The finish by F. Sanoy wasn't very amusing, however, as the ball flew way over the crossbar. Coming from the right, B. Rosenberg almost managed to score another goal for Spocker, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. After 81 minutes, Spocker's M. Guy fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! Spocker solidified their lead at the 88 minute mark, as S. Guţă dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 3 - 1. H. Stanford wanted to play on, but the Spocker coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 89 minutes into the game by Y. Karamihov. Spocker enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 56 percent of possession.

The most dominating Spocker player was without a doubt R. Andrew. Y. Karamihov on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Dragons player was M. Kezić. A. Steenman was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 1.