52 4 - 1 Pool_FC (392488896)

Clouds darkened the skies at V.I.P. Arena as 27616 spectators turned up for the match. Günther Hollweger was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kevin Hansson and Cédric Mourier. 52 had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Işıtan - Kjærulff, Saavedra, Espunya, Richardsson - Guerra, Ekenén, El-Nabil, Cepeda - Cuello, Sonichev.

Pool_FC tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. They fielded: Ngubase - Esrafilian, Olsson, Eneborn - Filiposki, Säfborn, Toppila, Jordanovski, Pettersson - Ståhlerberg, Ragnarsson.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of 52. Today, Pool_FC's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Pool_FC were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. With 4 minutes gone, A. Sonichev suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by 52 caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. A. Richardsson of 52 was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. With 21 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of 52 resulted in a counterattack that set A. Richardsson free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. 52 had to make a substitution after 22 minutes. Q. Cepeda limped off the field and was replaced by T. Mellbratt. G. El-Nabil was very close to giving 52 the lead with an ingenious free kick routine 23 minutes into the match, but the ball just grazed the bar. After 25 minutes, Pool_FC's V. Säfborn made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 0 - 1. The crowd was on its feet 31 minutes into the match, as 52's E. Cuello found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 1 - 1 equaliser. Players in Pool_FC heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. It was 1 - 1 at the break. Pool_FC enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 63 percent of possession.

After a fine move down the middle K. Kjærulff nearly gave the home side a goal after 50 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. 52 broke through on the left 65 minutes into the game, with E. Cuello firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 2 - 1 lead. With 66 minutes played, 52 put themselves up 3 - 1 when the visiting defenders lost the ball to A. Sonichev, who came up from the left and proceeded to coolly round the keeper and knock the ball home. At this point, it was obvious that the players of 52 lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. The counterattacks of 52 were deadly and 74 minutes into the game, M. Ekenén received a nice pass from the right flank, making it 4 - 1. 52's E. Cuello saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 75 minutes. The crowd roared its approval when R. Işıtan somehow managed to block a shot which seemed to be a certain goal by Pool_FC's H. Pettersson 76 minutes into the game. After 77 minutes, 52 surprised their opponents with a breakaway counter attack. The defenders had to resort to a foul to stop it. The free kick that followed was a clever indirect effort that almost succeeded, but the defence read the situation well and the intended recipient was left ruing what might have been. When A. Richardsson made yet another studs-first tackle after 81 minutes, the referee was obliged to book the 52 player for the second time, sending him off the pitch. Pool_FC had most of the ball, with 68 percent of possession.

Most important 52 player was E. Cuello. T. Mellbratt turned in a dismal performance, however. Pool_FC's best player was V. Säfborn. H. Pettersson was a disappointment, however. The match ends 4 - 1.