Manduka 2 - 3 Decanos (392521018)

25600 spectators had come to Manduka Futbol Arena this cloudy day. Emil Gilg was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Bengt Yngvesson and Pascal Eckenberg. Manduka had chosen a strategic 3-4-3 formation. The following players took the field: Eschle - Moreno Mora, Aimar, D'Argenio - Simon, Plesner, Massardi, van Riel - Gabrich, Caniza, Doni Giannini.

Decanos tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. Lineup: Palacios - Kütt, Cuixart, Avilés, de Ruijter, Dickbauer - Castellano, Rufin, Marinello, 昌 (Chang) - Giovanardi.

Decanos immediately set off using their skill at pressing their opponents. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave D. Aimar from Manduka a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 16 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 0. Decanos enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

With the match clock at 46 minutes, Decanos modified their style of play a little bit. K. Plesner behaved like an inexperienced youth player after 58 minutes as he gave the ball away to J. Castellano. Lucky for him though, there was no goal. After 60 minutes, the Manduka coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving E. Caniza off the field. L. Rossaroli took his place. The coach of Manduka wanted to try to change things around after 60 minutes, and gave new tactical instructions. 65 minutes into the game, Manduka wanted to bring some new energy to their game. A. Doni Giannini gave J. Pillín a quick hug as he left the field. 71 minutes into the game, Manduka seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. Decanos's talent at pressing frustrated the spectators as the game became a dire midfield struggle. 78 minutes into the game, Manduka seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. This part of the game was a standoff between the teams in terms of possession.

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 Manduka players spent the break getting a rerun of the team's tactical organisation and regained a passable organisation when the game started again. Manduka created a good opportunity to score 107 minutes into the match when G. Massardi'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. Decanos had a great opportunity to score following a counterattack after 110 minutes, but M. Marinello's shot from the left sailed high over the bar. The referee showed Decanos's R. Dickbauer the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. T. van Riel was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so Manduka's W. Lualdi had to come off the bench. There was still no winner after 30 minutes of extra time so the teams had to select a lineup for a penalty shoot-out to settle the result.

Manduka's D. Simon didn't hesitate but N. Palacios managed the save, resulting in an unchanged 0 - 0 score. Decanos's D. de Ruijter coolly put the ball past H. Eschle. 0 - 1. Manduka's D. Aimar showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 1 - 1. Oooh - how unlucky! Decanos's R. Dickbauer attempt hit the underside of the bar, but rebounded down into the grateful arms of H. Eschle. The score stays 1 - 1. There aren't many players that have the cheek to take a penalty like that! Manduka's A. Moreno Mora showed he was one of them, as he made it 2 - 1. Decanos's 冯. 昌 (Chang) didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of H. Eschle. The score remained 2 - 1. A confident A. D'Argenio of Manduka put the ball right where he wanted, but N. Palacios was right there for the save. No goal. Decanos's M. Kütt was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 2 - 2! Manduka's D. Gabrich penalty shot was very well placed but N. Palacios went the right way, blocking it spectacularly. The score was still 2 - 2. Decanos's A. Avilés made no mistake. H. Eschle didn't have a chance. 2 - 3. Manduka's top performer was clearly D. Gabrich. W. Lualdi was a disappointment, however. Decanos's best player was J. Castellano. 冯. 昌 (Chang) on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 3.