genti 1 - 9 Clavis (392818253)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 14250 to Sant'Elia. Lars Thorstensson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Panayiotis Partalis and Ulf Igelskog. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for genti. The following players took the field: Baños - Pizzagalli, Kabilio, Di Pietro - Sapounakis, Perelló, Bunel, Boudard, Akira - Matus, Manni.

Clavis decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. Starters: Kefalonitis - Marful, Leroux, Kejlberg, Vale - El-Faisal, Coura, Cappelleti, Lautier, Thiebault - Mac Auliffe.

Clavis were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. Clavis's A. Cappelleti managed to lose the defenders as he advanced down the right wing and scored, putting the visitors ahead after 5 minutes. 0 - 1. C. Akira's speed is always a threat when he gets a little room to move, and 7 minutes into the match was no different as he broke free of his man to send a delightful through ball to M. Matus who knocked it in for genti. 1 - 1! Clavis were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. The terraces were silenced after 18 minutes when Clavis's M. Leroux put the guests ahead 1 - 2, following an attack on the right. E. Coura increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 1 - 3. V. Thiebault made a nice dash down the wing after 26 minutes, but was unable to get the cross into the box. A goal kick was awarded. Players in Clavis heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. A drive down the left side allowed K. El-Faisal to get in close and score another goal for Clavis after 27 minutes, taking the score to 1 - 4. The players of Clavis now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. The sun seemed to put K. El-Faisal in a great mood, and he showed off his technical skills all match long. 30 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 1 - 5 as M. Leroux finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. 1 - 5 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Clavis, with 70 percent of the ball.

Given a free kick close to the byline, Clavis tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let J. Vale slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 1 - 6, 58 minutes into the game. After 71 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed A. Cappelleti to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 1 - 7. genti's M. Boudard was shown a yellow card after 78 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Due to a severely mistimed tackle, M. Leroux of Clavis spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. J. Vale of Clavis seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 1 - 8 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by K. El-Faisal. Just a few inches to the right, and the visitors could have had a goal 83 minutes into the match. K. El-Faisal surely wishes he could do that free kick over again. The Clavis free kick 84 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of J. Vale, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 1 - 9! This third goal completed a hattrick for J. Vale. Clavis claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 69 percent.

The most dominating genti player was without a doubt M. Matus. However, Ó. Baños made a disastrous appearance. Clavis's top performer was clearly R. Lautier. N. Kefalonitis was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 9.