Khalij 2 - 5 United (392913818)

Clouds darkened the skies at Persian Gulf Iran as 2407 spectators turned up for the match. Jan Quaresma was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Philip Dueholm and Robert Gruber. Khalij tactics involved an interesting 3-4-3 combination. The following players took the field: Raisani - Hosseini Zaferani, Fremd, Khiabani - Adam, O'Connor, Szwaja, Vilela - Popescu, Barati, Kuske.

United started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Patchell - Tokal, Zübert, Trichias - Porcu, Ancona, Benjaminsen, Noyola, Quinton - Galinovskiy, Moore.

Khalij mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. The wings were the focus of most of United's attacks today. G. Tokal had a good opportunity to give United the lead as he charged down the right and struck the ball towards the top corner, but the home team's goalkeeper made the save. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave T. Adam from Khalij a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 6 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Players in United heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. It was obvious that team Khalij had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. F. O'Connor was first to reach a ball launched long through the center from Khalij's defence 12 minutes into the game. He managed to keep his cool and beat the goalkeeper to make the score 1 - 0. Perseverence paid off for United, as their J. Noyola equalised making it 1 - 1 with a fabulous free kick. United's G. Tokal got himself booked for a foul. Due to a severely mistimed tackle, T. Adam of Khalij spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. They were singing the praises of A. Vilela 36 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 2 - 1 to Khalij. The visitors didn't give in and, after 37 minutes, G. Tokal got through the home side's central line of defence, rolling in the equaliser to make it 2 - 2. United's D. Quinton was shown a yellow card after 39 minutes for slicing down an opponent. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 2. United enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 69 percent of possession.

This was a good period for the visitors, with several opportunities to take the lead, particularly when C. Moore slipped through the defence on the right to come up alone against A. Raisani, but the home side's keeper showed his lightning reflexes. Khalij's C. Popescu had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 56 minutes having been played. A. Amani was the replacement. The guests almost went up by a goal after 70 minutes when C. Zübert came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 72 minutes into the match, and C. Moore wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 2 - 3 for the visitors. C. Moore received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 73 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 2 - 4. The United fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. United had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. Some fine movement on the left led to a United goal after 80 minutes, making it 2 - 5. E. Galinovskiy was noted down as the scorer. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by United, with 70 percent of the ball.

Khalij's best player was A. Amani. On the other hand, N. Fremd's play was disheartening. Most important United player was E. Galinovskiy. C. Zübert on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 2 - 5.