f.c.Stars 0 - 2 Ratas (392420150)

The crowd of 16105 turning up at Stars of the Space today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Henrique Espinheira was the appointed referee with assistance provided by David Lannerholt and Ignacio Monleón. f.c.Stars decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. They fielded: Benetka - Dehlmo, Pančocha, Rigg - Diogo, Ávila, Vengerov, Sánchez, Carrió - Delwiche, Gibbs.

A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Ratas. Lineup: Zas - Monis, Zola, Drăgoi, Dušek, Taulats - Rafi, Esteban, Coucieiro - Cenăuţan, Ostos Pérez.

Ratas's J. Ostos Pérez gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead after 28 minutes with a superb strike from the right. Ratas had to manage with a reduced squad after 34 minutes, as H. Rafi got sent off for a needless foul away from the game's action. The Ratas captaincy was handed to A. Cenăuţan. R. Rigg, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. A defender managed to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line after a curling shot coming in from the right from J. Ostos Pérez after 40 minutes, and prevented Ratas from going up another goal. Ratas came close to extending their lead as A. Cenăuţan delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 43 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. 44 minutes in, Ratas's P. Zola received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A loud groan was heard from the fans of f.c.Stars, as A. Ávila left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. R. Barbosa took his place on the field. After 44 minutes, following yet another great corner, D. Drăgoi's flick on at the near post reached M. Dušek, who was just wide with his snapshot - the ball went out for a goal kick. The visitors' S. Taulats took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 44 minutes into the match. 0 - 2 for Ratas. Halftime score was 0 - 2. Ratas enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 66 percent of possession.

O. Diogo's experience almost gave f.c.Stars a goal after 57 minutes but the keeper made a great save. The coach of Ratas was happy with the game so far, but still wanted to change the line up. After 60 minutes, E. Ulvestad came on for S. Taulats. f.c.Stars's E. Carrió was shown a yellow card after 69 minutes for slicing down an opponent. After 74 minutes of game time, P. Zola had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but P. Benetka was in the right place and tipped the ball over for a corner. Had it not been for one of the home defenders, A. Cenăuţan would have put Ratas up another goal 84 minutes into the match with his audacious lob from the right wing. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Ratas coach let V. Ticconi replace D. Drăgoi after 85 minutes. Ratas claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 66 percent.

Most important f.c.Stars player was F. Gibbs. M. Pančocha on the other hand, had a terrible day. Ratas's best player was E. Zas. V. Ticconi was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 2.