Cascurò 2 - 1 Cruzeiro (392819811)

Clouds darkened the skies at Amunì Cascurò Arena as 36651 spectators turned up for the match. Thomas Svantesson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Carlos Landi and Igor Preis. Cascurò decided to use a 5-3-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Simonetti - Pretto, Meneghello, Tangianu, Gerarduzzi, Borin - Pereira, Gallinari, Brata - Ghilotti, Todescato.

Cruzeiro tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. Starters: Inniss - Brandt, Macron, Magnanimi, Escheimber - Zucchelli, Šegić, Jurbă, Spasić, Marc - Thorninger.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Cascurò. It was an obvious ambition of Cruzeiro to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. Cascurò's counterattack was impressive and was only stopped by a shocking foul. Somehow, the referee's cards remained in his pocket - a terrible decision! Z. Borin's resulting free kick was easily saved by the keeper. Cruzeiro's G. Thorninger was shown a yellow card after 27 minutes for slicing down an opponent. L. Ghilotti's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Cascurò, he bravely continued in the match. Players in Cruzeiro heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. 41 minutes into the match, Cascurò's L. Ghilotti demonstrated his famed speed as he raced past his marker and passed the ball to A. Todescato who chipped it in for 1 - 0. After 43 minutes, Cruzeiro's F. Escheimber fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! 1 - 0 was the halftime score. Cruzeiro enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 83 percent of possession.

A. Tangianu left the field with a smile on his face as he was substituted 75 minutes into the game, as his team was in the lead. G. Zerbi was the replacement. An equalising goal seemed certain after 76 minutes when V. Spasić attacked down the left wing, but G. Simonetti just managed to make a save to keep the ball out of the net. J. Macron got left behind when Cascurò's A. Todescato made a sudden run forward after 83 minutes, finishing off with a neat strike. 2 - 0! 85 minutes into the match, Cruzeiro replied and reduced the lead to 2 - 1. F. Zucchelli scored on a marvellous cross pass coming in from the left. Attacking on the wings was the choice for Cruzeiro, and they were successfully passing the ball from the middle to the wings to attack. Cascurò's defence sent a ball soaring up the middle on a beautiful counterattack with 89 minutes gone, but L. Ghilotti's finish was met by the reaching hands of the keeper. With 89 minutes gone, a long pass from the defence of Cascurò resulted in a counterattack that set L. Gerarduzzi free through the middle, but the keeper made a spectacular diving save. Possession in this half belonged to Cruzeiro, who controlled the ball 84 percent of the time.

Most important Cascurò player was G. Pretto. D. Gallinari was a disappointment, however. Cruzeiro's best player was B. Jurbă. K. Brandt on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 1.