Dunav 6 - 2 GuanoApes (392612801)

26802 spectators arrived at Stadion Gradski, where weather conditions were pretty good for football. Joep Hovelynck was the appointed referee with assistance provided by David Krüder and Otto Duarte. A 5-4-1 alignment was the formation of choice for Dunav. The following players had been chosen: Erip - Benev, Markov, Kanazirev, Stavrev, Mitzev - Lemey, Krústev, Penkov, Bentürk - Hristov.

GuanoApes started off with a 5-5-0 lineup. Starters: Rousseeuw - Häppölä, Facchi, Villanger, Forer, Zawiła - Velichkov, Petrov, Ginev, Bonev, Tzvetanov -.

GuanoApes focused on getting players in position for long range shots. The crowd was amused as G. Facchi of GuanoApes used a few interesting tricks and dribbles to get into the penalty box. The finish by N. Tzvetanov wasn't very amusing, however, as the ball flew way over the crossbar. A penalty was given after 31 minutes, allowing the visitors to gain the lead: 0 - 1. K. Petrov was the scorer. Dunav equalised after 34 minutes after a brilliantly placed penalty by N. Penkov. Dunav's Z. Stavrev got himself booked for a foul. It was obvious that the tactic of the day for GuanoApes was to go for long shots, but in order to score they have to do better than the shooting attempt from V. Bonev after 39 minutes, which was a total failure. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to GuanoApes, who controlled the ball 63 percent of the time.

GuanoApes focused on finding shooting opportunities from distance and after 55 minutes G. Facchi fired off the big cannon, but the shot went sailing over the cross bar and into the car park. After 70 minutes, the Dunav coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving N. Penkov off the field. V. Zlatarev took his place. Some beautiful play by GuanoApes set up K. Ginev in a good shooting position after 81 minutes, but S. Erip made a great save on the low hard shot. GuanoApes had most of the ball, with 68 percent of possession.

As neither team had managed to win, extra time was called. The referee showed GuanoApes's J. Forer the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. A loud groan was heard from the fans of Dunav, as E. Mitzev left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. A. Mihov took his place on the field. K. Petrov delivered a good free kick from an excellent position 98 minutes into the game, but luck wasn't on GuanoApes's side this time and the ball went wide. 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.

Dunav's B. Krústev kept his cool as he faced down J. Rousseeuw. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 2 - 1. GuanoApes's A. Häppölä showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 2 - 2. Dunav's N. Hristov coolly put the ball past J. Rousseeuw. 3 - 2. GuanoApes's J. Forer looked like he knew exactly where he wanted to put the ball, but unfortunately his shot went wide of the left hand post. Still 3 - 2. Dunav's Z. Stavrev was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 4 - 2! GuanoApes's G. Villanger looked nervous even as he was putting the ball on the spot. He didn't take much of a run up, and his weak shot was easily saved by the keeper. Dunav's V. Zlatarev made no mistake. J. Rousseeuw didn't have a chance. 5 - 2. Clearly nervous from the start, GuanoApes's G. Facchi took a long run up, but could only blast the ball over the bar. The score remains 5 - 2. Dunav's N. Markov kept his cool as he faced down J. Rousseeuw. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 6 - 2. GuanoApes's W. Zawiła didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of S. Erip. The score remained 6 - 2. Dunav's top performer was clearly N. Hristov. I. Benev on the other hand, had a terrible day. V. Bonev performed admirably for GuanoApes. J. Rousseeuw turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 6 - 2.