Gorillas 0 - 3 aussie (392618251)

Clouds darkened the skies at Gorilla Dome as 35000 spectators turned up for the match. Patrik Olofsson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Burhan Al-Saleh and Mattias Davidsson. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Gorillas. Lineup: Freiberg - Marinho, Aldred, Quim Xuim - Bland, Lastadie, Headlam, Fransson, De Cesaris - Cole, Milo.

aussie decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. Starters: Szentgyörgyi - Vettorato, Urzúa, Thürnau - Prigent, Arantes, Stensson, Vilella, Rivolta - Dahlgren, Božić.

Gorillas clearly had decided to counter-attack when they could. aussie used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. After the game, the most discussed event will probably be the penalty given after 5 minutes that gave the visitors the 0 - 1 lead. Despite the controversy, C. Dahlgren struck home the penalty, as cool as anything. Gorillas's E. Milo was shown a yellow card after 6 minutes for slicing down an opponent. U. Vierlbeck was called on to replace aussie's I. Stensson after 26 minutes following a nasty collision. E. Milo made a superb strike after 28 minutes with a shot straight in front of the goal after a long ball through the middle, but one of the visitors' defenders got a foot in at the last second and warded it off for a corner. After the ball was lifted in from the left, E. Arantes was on his own in the home side's penalty area and should have scored after 29 minutes, but missed, probably due to lack of concentration. S. Božić was, after 32 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper E. Freiberg made the save. aussie's S. Božić made it through the home team's defence on the right hand side 37 minutes into the match. After rounding the keeper, he only had to place the ball in the unguarded goal when a defender slid in and cleared the ball off the line. aussie's C. Prigent left the field after 39 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was C. Mumandil. aussie had a magnificent opportunity after 41 minutes as E. Arantes hit the ball hard from the edge of the penalty box. However, the shot went wide. 42 minutes in, aussie's L. Rivolta received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Halftime score was 0 - 1. Possession in this half belonged to aussie, who controlled the ball 56 percent of the time.

aussie had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. The visitors' U. Vierlbeck took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 57 minutes into the match. 0 - 2 for aussie. The referee showed Gorillas's B. Cole the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 67 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for A. Urzúa who increased aussie's lead to 0 - 3. Clever play that showed his experience gave N. De Cesaris a good chance to score, but the shot hit the crossbar. The home crowd cheered when, after 79 minutes, S. Božić's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave D. Quim Xuim from Gorillas a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 83 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! aussie's A. Urzúa went down after a savage challenge, but could continue playing after some medical attention. C. Dahlgren came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over E. Freiberg but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by aussie, with 59 percent of the ball.

D. Quim Xuim performed admirably for Gorillas. M. Headlam turned in a dismal performance, however. aussie's top performer was clearly S. Božić. C. Mumandil was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 3.