Lasko 3 - 2 Villanova (392818392)

The 39693 fans in attendance at Pivo je dobro were roasting in the hot sun. Dolf Valkhof was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Hüseyin Can Gülören and Sammy Dünnenberger. Lasko tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. Lineup: Corsi - Coutinho, Negrais, Snoeys, Mateiu - Tune, Stiekema, Plánička, Wig, Seyringer - Sarja.

Villanova decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Gencarelli - Pakomäki, Pettersen, Breha, Csanád - Siekierzyński, Hausner, Foletto, Alejos - 祥财 (Xiangcai), Meutstege.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Villanova. Lasko's opponents know to be wary of G. Seyringer's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 7 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! Villanova's defence sent a ball soaring up the middle on a beautiful counterattack with 9 minutes gone, but 赖. 祥财 (Xiangcai)'s finish was met by the reaching hands of the keeper. A. Tune gave Lasko the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 The referee showed Lasko's J. Wig the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. 37 minutes into the match the visitors levelled the score at 1 - 1 as 赖. 祥财 (Xiangcai) struck home from a rebound off the crossbar, following a shot from the right. The guests took the lead 38 minutes into the match, after a right-side attack resulted in E. Meutstege scoring to make it 1 - 2. Villanova's E. Meutstege got himself booked for a foul. Unfortunately for Lasko, D. Coutinho was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field. V. de la Riba replaced him. Halftime score was 1 - 2. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Lasko, with 58 percent of the ball.

With 61 minutes played, the Lasko coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. M. Colella came on, J. Wig had to leave the fray. The Lasko coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. S. Foletto enjoyed the sunshine and demonstrated his stunning technique over and over again. With things not going too well on the field, the Lasko coach made the decision to swap the positions of A. Negrais and D. Mateiu with 70 minutes played. The bench was restless, and with 71 minutes passed Lasko's coach gave E. Gortemaker the opportunity the player had been hoping for. D. Mateiu reluctantly left the field. The home crowd cheered when, after 74 minutes, E. Meutstege's charge up the middle resulted in the keeper making one of his best saves of the day. 77 minutes into the match, Lasko's M. Colella maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 2 - 2. Lasko created a good opportunity to score 78 minutes into the match when A. Negrais's hooked ball from the left created a scuffle in front of the goal, and the visitors' defenders had a hard time clearing the ball. After 83 minutes Villanova's P. Hausner contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. 84 minutes in, Lasko's M. Colella received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. A crazy pass by A. Negrais towards his own keeper almost caused a goal for Villanova, but P. Siekierzyński didn't get the finish right. Some great play up the middle by Lasko led to a chance for A. Stiekema to score after 88 minutes, but the shot hit the crossbar. Possession in this half belonged to Lasko, who controlled the ball 57 percent of the time.

With the scores being level after 90 minutes, the match went into extra time. Given a free kick close to the byline, Lasko tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let M. Colella slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 3 - 2, 92 minutes into the game. Game over, Lasko win! R. Sarja performed admirably for Lasko. V. de la Riba turned in a dismal performance, however. Villanova's top performer was clearly E. Meutstege. On the other hand, R. Breha's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 2.