Korokota 2 - 3 Paranoid (392650149)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 27384 to Pochorroton Stadium. Jan-Oliver Herkströter was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alejandro Coronado and Luca Berkheimer. Korokota started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Starters: Laho - Köhn, Ganzatti, Krahn - Van Haesendonck, Demoro, Kutsenko, Plasman, Iriarte - Ganev, Rubin.

Paranoid had chosen a strategic 4-5-1 formation. The following players took the field: Vučković - Spur Mortensen, Precup, Pozolotin, Fortuny - Bizard, Dias, Jha, Ferrermoner, Frawley - Antończyk.

The wings were the focus of most of Paranoid's attacks today. The guests took the lead 3 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in S. Frawley scoring to make it 0 - 1. A foul 21 minutes into the game resulted in a free kick for Korokota. L. Krahn took advantage as he curled the equalising goal into the top corner, just out of the reach of the keeper. 1 - 1. Paranoid almost scored after a counterattack 23 minutes into the match, but K. Spur Mortensen took a shot from the left that landed harmlessly in the side of the net. D. Fortuny of Paranoid received a yellow card after 24 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 26 minutes into the game, a swerving free kick by L. Krahn almost resulted in the home team taking the lead, but the shot glanced harmlessly off the frame of the goal. 1 - 1 was the score after the first half. Korokota enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

Korokota's J. Plasman left the field after 52 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was J. Cosp. J. Cosp became the new Korokota captain. After 55 minutes, the Paranoid coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving P. Ferrermoner off the field. A. Yataco took his place. 55 minutes into the match, the Paranoid manager wanted to try a new tactic, and the players loyally obliged. As the 55 minute mark approached, the Paranoid coach decided it was time for a substitution. J. Antończyk reluctantly made way for A. Estupiñà on the pitch. 56 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Paranoid substitution. D. Camargo came on for S. Frawley. 1 - 2 was the score with 77 minutes played, after U. Jha cut through the central defence and chipped home a goal for Paranoid. After 80 minutes Korokota's J. Laho contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. 83 minutes in, and Korokota were able to score the equalising goal to make it 2 - 2 when S. Iriarte picked up a pass coming in from the right and chipped it past the away team's keeper. As the match clock reached 85 minutes, Korokota's organisation began to suffer due to a lack of experience. 86 minutes into the game, A. Dias almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. With 87 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Korokota resulted in a counterattack that set H. Ganev free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. The referee showed Paranoid's U. Jha the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Unfortunately for Korokota, S. Iriarte was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. K. Olrik replaced him. Possession in this half belonged to Paranoid, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

After the regular 90 minutes, the agony of extra time followed. A review of the gameplan helped Korokota get back to a solid organisation when the referee blew his whistle again. Paranoid's D. Fortuny gave the visitors a 2 - 3 lead after 99 minutes with a superb strike from the right. What a dramatic win for Paranoid! Korokota's best player was O. Kutsenko. K. Olrik was a disappointment, however. Most important Paranoid player was A. Dias. On the other hand, P. Bizard's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 3.