AKUMAL 1 - 2 SAGACIA (392331498)

The crowd of 17000 turning up at NIDO DELLE TARTARUGHE today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Gernot Gfatter was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Aleksander Tomczak and Boris Dobrev. AKUMAL started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Oliveira Godinho - Leng Nie, Mejías, Zamfirescu - Tonfoni, Davalillos, Geber, Taurino, Schöberl - Patronis, Abazi.

SAGACIA tactics involved an interesting 4-3-3 combination. The following players took the field: Buenaventura - Avşar, Zudilov, Cot, Goldmann - Ruault, Ferrara, Söderholt - Nizzolo, Marcondes, Elkins.

AKUMAL were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. SAGACIA were relying on their ability to counter-attack. D. Marcondes, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. AKUMAL could have put themselves ahead after 26 minutes but C. Leng Nie missed a volley shot on a ball coming in from the right. SAGACIA showed their counterattack skill 27 minutes into the match by breaking through the middle, with B. Goldmann scoring uncontested for 0 - 1. 30 minutes into the game SAGACIA managed a counterattack, but M. Elkins took a soft shot from the left flank that was easy prey for the alert keeper. Attacking on the wings was the choice for AKUMAL, and they were successfully passing the ball from the middle to the wings to attack. AKUMAL's C. Leng Nie made an attempt at equalising 32 minutes into the match, coming in from the right, but the ball hit the post and the defence easily cleared the rebound. N. Taurino was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. 0 - 1 was the score after the first half. AKUMAL enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 66 percent of possession.

After 77 minutes, following yet another great corner, N. Taurino's flick on at the near post reached M. Geber, who was just wide with his snapshot - the ball went out for a goal kick. AKUMAL were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. After 79 minutes, G. Tonfoni got through on the right and was very close to equalising for the home side, but didn't get the shot away. AKUMAL were awarded a penalty with 80 minutes played, and G. Tonfoni made no mistake as he effortlessly slotted the equaliser home. 1 - 1. AKUMAL had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. There was concern in the stands when, at the 88 minute mark, AKUMAL's M. Geber hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by AKUMAL, with 67 percent of the ball.

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. Players in AKUMAL heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. AKUMAL created a good opportunity to score 91 minutes into the match when P. Davalillos's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. It was obvious that AKUMAL had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. At 96 minutes played, V. Patronis came in from the right with the intention of giving AKUMAL the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. SAGACIA were great at switching from defence to attack, and after 97 minutes, S. Nizzolo swept through the middle on a counterattack, making the score 1 - 2. Extra time over, SAGACIA were the victors! The most dominating AKUMAL player was without a doubt M. Geber. However, N. Taurino made a disastrous appearance. Most important SAGACIA player was S. Nizzolo. D. Cot was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 2.