Knochenpolizei 3 - 4 Nordlichter (392322817)

Dark skies made the crowd of 24725 at Waldstadion a little nervous, but the rain held off. Ken Thomsen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kaarlo Tammisto and Matteo Besozzi. Knochenpolizei had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Ashkenazi - Stempfle, Belmonte, Janda - Kretsch, Schmeer, Stanschitz, Leggieri, von Thülen - Ciceri, Grell.

Nordlichter tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players took the field: Toimi - Waldherr, Lohikoski, Lebecq - Huttunen, Nunziati, Dunn, Popst, Rountree - Alayontlu, Fanfara.

Nordlichter had several good opportunities to take the lead, especially 11 minutes in when M. Fanfara came up alone against S. Ashkenazi who managed a block. The goal for 1 - 0 was a funny story: after 28 minutes the seemingly nonchalant lob from Knochenpolizei's S. von Thülen landed at the feet of O. Grell who sidefooted it into the net - nice goal! Things were deteriorating for the away team as Knochenpolizei scored another to make it 2 - 0 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for Y. Stempfle after 35 minutes. 36 minutes into the game, D. Waldherr had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came B. Finelli. Nordlichter fought on and, after 41 minutes, E. Alayontlu was able to reduce the deficit to 2 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side were finished off with an incredibly clever chip. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to Knochenpolizei, who controlled the ball 55 percent of the time.

Knochenpolizei solidified their lead at the 55 minute mark, as O. Grell dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 3 - 1. A bit later, Nordlichter's E. Alayontlu easily reduced the lead to 3 - 2 after a misunderstanding in the home side's central defence. After 73 minutes, the visitors levelled the scores after M. Fanfara made it through the middle and struck home to make it 3 - 3. At 75 minutes played, O. Grell came in from the right with the intention of giving Knochenpolizei the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. Knochenpolizei claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 54 percent.

As neither team was able to break the deadlock before the end of regular play, the teams took to the field again for extra time. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Nordlichter's M. Fanfara after 94 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 3 - 4 lead. This put an end to extra time, making Nordlichter the winners. Knochenpolizei's top performer was clearly K. Schmeer. On the other hand, S. Ashkenazi's play was disheartening. Most important Nordlichter player was M. Fanfara. However, B. Finelli made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 4.