Alert 2 - 2 Patella (392027539)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 46520 to Red Runners Arena. Nicolaj Witt was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Víctor Porcel and Erkki Vainionpää. Alert tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Pientka - Pompeu, Hehling, Powell - Duhli, Lotito, Avalos, Knauer, Shapiro - Kunalić, Gomes.

Patella had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. Starters: Benítez - Giovannoni, Bilbao, de Abreu - Mieszkalski, Añoveros, Cruzado, Marques - Basham, Stclair, Erwin.

Alert were relying on their ability to counter-attack. N. Avalos gave Alert the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 After 4 minutes, T. Powell sent the corner kick right to F. Knauer who headed it sharply past the keeper. 2 - 0! 8 minutes in, an amazing pass from the left side resulted in a goal for the visitors, as L. de Abreu anticipated the through ball and scored, reducing the deficit to 2 - 1. A. Lotito had a fantastic opportunity to put Alert up another goal 15 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. Alert claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 59 percent.

A great save by keeper A. Benítez after 52 minutes kept the visitors in the game after Ž. Kunalić struck from the left with a real cannonball. 58 minutes into the game Patella's M. Cruzado found a gap in the home side's central defence and scored with a fabulous shot, making it 2 - 2. Alert had a good opportunity to take the lead as D. Shapiro came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of A. Benítez. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Alert, with 60 percent of the ball.

Alert's top performer was clearly Ž. Kunalić. However, T. Powell made a disastrous appearance. Most important Patella player was L. Basham. S. Mieszkalski on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 2.