AFRICA 0 - 5 Assoua (392686298)

Due to an all-day shower, 12000 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Stadium of Friendship. Marco Gurrea was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Charlie Nichols and Kajetan Lukowitsch. AFRICA tactics involved an interesting 3-5-1 combination. Lineup: Fofié - Kondo, Assouan, Gogoua - Xaci, Boulanger, Ouattara, Sakho, Delprat - Geußer.

Assoua decided to use a 4-3-3 set up. The following players took the field: Jansche - Orville, Izquierdo, Sæther, Oláh - Darnault, Goncalves, Faust - Van Waeyenberghe, Pilla, Coenen.

AFRICA were relying on their ability to counter-attack. With 10 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. N. Goncalves put the ball away for 0 - 1. After 12 minutes, AFRICA's B. Boulanger fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! 13 minutes in, AFRICA appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only inadequate. Some fine movement on the left led to a Assoua goal after 42 minutes, making it 0 - 2. T. Coenen was noted down as the scorer. Confident in their lead, Assoua's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. G. Pilla was struggling to make the ball dance with his usual trickery and panache, and the opposing players had little trouble shutting him down in these muddy conditions. N. Goncalves could have put his team up another goal 44 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. After 44 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for J. Van Waeyenberghe who increased Assoua's lead to 0 - 3. 0 - 3 was the score after the first half. Assoua claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 71 percent.

During the break, AFRICA's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. T. Darnault was, after 49 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 D. Fofié made the save. After 53 minutes, Assoua's Å. Sæther burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 4. 75 minutes into the game, AFRICA seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. After 80 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave J. Van Waeyenberghe a chance to increase the lead for Assoua, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 5. 82 minutes into the game, Assoua worked the left side industriously creating several opportunities to add to their lead, but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Assoua, with 74 percent of the ball.

AFRICA's top performer was clearly C. Geußer. R. Ouattara was a disappointment, however. Most important Assoua player was T. Coenen. V. Oláh on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 0 - 5.