guardiani 1 - 3 Nazareth (392818629)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 37125 had shown up at la Gatta buia for the match. Virgil Yeager was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Fabian Birgersson and Afonso Pereira. guardiani tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Risitano - Montecucco, Kubatov, Fichefet, Sole - Zafferri, Assirati, Capperino, Zanon - Kleiven, Arzilli.

A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Nazareth. Lineup: Emiri - Scardia, Otero - Carolino, Secci, Nitri, Ardia, Ibañez - Hržina, Ryngaert, Lo Bascio.

N. Kubatov got left behind when Nazareth's M. Lo Bascio made a sudden run forward after 6 minutes, finishing off with a neat strike. 0 - 1! S. Arzilli charged down the left and had a wonderful opportunity to score the equaliser for guardiani, but the shot went well wide of the goal. D. Marra was called on to replace Nazareth's M. Ardia after 37 minutes following a nasty collision. J. Hržina acted with superior experience when, 39 minutes into the match, he predicted a pass, intercepted it and then finished off with a goal. 0 - 2 for Nazareth! P. Ibañez of Nazareth took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 40 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 0 - 3. By now, the players in Nazareth felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. guardiani reduced the lead to 1 - 3 with 41 minutes on the clock when C. Assirati got the best of a ball floated in from the left. 1 - 3 was the score after the first half. Nazareth had most of the ball, with 52 percent of possession.

Nazareth's M. Lo Bascio made it through the home team's defence on the right hand side 55 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. P. Zafferri charged down the left and looked sure to score for guardiani 57 minutes into the game, but his shot went just wide. guardiani's S. Arzilli managed a superb strike from the left after 65 minutes that would have left goalkeeper D. Emiri without a chance, had it not hit the post. R. Ryngaert left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 77 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. P. Marcandalli was the replacement. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

S. Risitano performed admirably for guardiani. V. Zanon was a disappointment, however. Most important Nazareth player was P. Marcandalli. D. Marra turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 3.