Kaloian 0 - 4 Leeds (392826514)

31000 punters turned up at Kaloian Arena1, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Bernard Fitzpatrick was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Lukas Hasler and Peter-Jan Brozius. Kaloian started off with a 2-5-2 lineup. Starters: Michev - Petrov, Melenas - Nardini, Bot, Muracchini, Câmpian, Ivkov - Boellaard, Silva Pacheco.

Leeds decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. They fielded: Vasilev - Maschlanka, Chochev, Ananiev, Malkanov - Beleliev, Mala, Errandonea, Koykov - Dimitrov, Orenbo.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Leeds. A. Silva Pacheco almost seemed to dance around A. Ananiev, his movements were so smooth. Unfortunately for Kaloian, his finish ended up on the wrong side of the post. 15 minutes in, Kaloian appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only poor. Leeds's A. Dimitrov gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead after 28 minutes with a superb strike from the right. The goal to make it 0 - 2 was scored by O. Orenbo after 34 minutes, following an opportunistic counterattack down the middle by Leeds. A. Dimitrov received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 39 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 3. The Leeds fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. The players of Leeds now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. Halftime score was 0 - 3. Leeds claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

During the break, Kaloian's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to passable organisation. After 67 minutes, Leeds's B. Vasilev fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! 70 minutes into the game, Kaloian seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. The referee showed Leeds's A. Dimitrov the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. P. Beleliev of Leeds was able to make an impressive rush past the sluggish C. Câmpian, which resulted in a goal making the score 0 - 4. Leeds mounted an inspired counterattack down the right wing after 89 minutes, but W. Mala was unable to convert from short range. Kaloian had no available replacements when A. Petrov had to leave the game after 89 minutes because of a pulled tendon, leaving the team a man short. 89 minutes into the game, Kaloian seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Kaloian, with 54 percent of the ball.

Kaloian's top performer was clearly A. Muracchini. T. Michev was a disappointment, however. Leeds's best player was G. Koykov. On the other hand, W. Mala's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 4.