Sologna 0 - 0 EXCEL (392476406)

Clouds darkened the skies at Sologna Drome as 263 spectators turned up for the match. Søren Stenild was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rogier Scholten and Narciso Magne. Sologna started off with a 5-4-1 lineup. Lineup: Rey - Kratschmann, Šlancar, D'Hooge, Di Salvo, Donnet - Delatte, Smet, Dorchain, Geens - Vandervelpen.

EXCEL tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. They fielded: 前田 (Maeda) - Fausti, Salomon, Staicu, Marcus, Rescigno - Impellizzeri, Wijsenbeek, Gyaurov, Ciauş - Ahanda.

EXCEL demonstrated their creative tactics on the field. M. Dorchain was very close to giving Sologna the lead with an ingenious free kick routine 10 minutes into the match, but the ball just grazed the bar. Sologna's A. Vandervelpen was shown a yellow card after 22 minutes for slicing down an opponent. At 23 minutes played, M. Dorchain came in from the right with the intention of giving Sologna the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. Some things can only be learned through experience, and C. Wijsenbeek should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting Sologna a goal with 24 minutes of the match played. M. Dorchain could have put Sologna into the lead after 27 minutes, but the free kick went just wide. 33 minutes into the game, EXCEL seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a inadequate level of organisation. It was 0 - 0 at the break. Sologna claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 92 percent.

The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that EXCEL had solid organisation. 48 minutes into the game EXCEL managed a counterattack, but I. Ciauş took a soft shot from the left flank that was easy prey for the alert keeper. 63 minutes in, EXCEL appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only passable. EXCEL's F. Rescigno was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 76 minutes. A. Vandervelpen really should have scored when he was chosen by fate to confront a wide open goal following a great play by R. Donnet after a corner. 87 minutes into the game, EXCEL had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to inadequate. Sologna enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 91 percent of possession.

A. Di Salvo performed admirably for Sologna. On the other hand, D. Rey's play was disheartening. The most dominating EXCEL player was without a doubt R. Marcus. I. Ciauş was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 0.