spurg 2 - 5 Fantaclub2008 (393018366)

Clear skies welcomed the 53957 spectators who had made their way to A. Battistoli Arena. Wilfred Sluiter was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ionuţ-Bogdan Vizirean and Jeffry Renders. spurg decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. They fielded: Barucha - Vallejos, Casino, Agosto - Tenente, Iozzino, Hertzberger, Di Brandimarte, Mähr - Regelin, Buunk.

Fantaclub2008 started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Valentin - Özel, Pareschi, Kuusikko - Jakab, Giovinazzo, Garoldi, Codraro, Taskov - Cherif, Janzsó.

After 3 minutes, Fantaclub2008's A. Özel made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 0 - 1. Against a lesser team, spurg could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 9 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. After 29 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by spurg was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options. 38 minutes into the match, spurg's W. Hertzberger 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 1 - 1. The coach of Fantaclub2008 wanted to try to change things around after 38 minutes, and gave new tactical instructions. After 38 minutes, the Fantaclub2008 coach had a quick word about the tactical set-up and decided to try another approach. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Fantaclub2008, with 51 percent of the ball.

After 46 minutes, the Fantaclub2008 coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving O. Cherif off the field. S. Pedri took his place. Some great play up the middle by spurg led to a chance for A. Di Brandimarte to score after 73 minutes, but the shot hit the crossbar. Fantaclub2008 mounted an inspired counterattack down the right wing after 74 minutes, but R. Giovinazzo was unable to convert from short range. V. Garoldi dispatched a majestic long shot 76 minutes into the match, but missed the goal by a few metres. The visitors were very close to gaining the lead with a marvellous free kick after 82 minutes, but A. Barucha made a beautiful one-handed save. After a fine move down the middle A. Tenente nearly gave the home side a goal after 84 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. 85 minutes into the match Fantaclub2008's S. Pedri viciously shoved another player from behind while going for a loose ball and was sent off the pitch with a red card. A. Barucha looked great 87 minutes into the match after stopping a shot from the middle of the penalty area from the visitors' V. Garoldi. Neither team was controlling the possession at this point in the match, with the stats showing a 50:50 split.

After the regular 90 minutes, the agony of extra time followed. S. Janzsó would have preferred to play on, but his coach decided otherwise. B. Sileo entered the game for Fantaclub2008 as the match clock showed 105 minutes. As the 106 minute mark approached, the Fantaclub2008 coach decided it was time for a substitution. A. Özel reluctantly made way for İ. Özercan on the pitch. spurg's D. Buunk tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. W. Hertzberger received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 113 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. Many thought M. Mähr ought to have been awarded a penalty 114 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around F. Valentin after a determined run through the middle. The guests almost went up by a goal after 118 minutes when B. Sileo came through and shot from the right. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though. There was still no winner after 30 minutes of extra time so the teams had to select a lineup for a penalty shoot-out to settle the result.

spurg's W. Hertzberger cockily booted the ball with a short-and-fast instep. The penalty, going just wide of the mark, didn't produce a goal. Fantaclub2008's B. Sileo kept his cool as he faced down A. Barucha. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 1 - 2. Clearly nervous from the start, spurg's S. Casino took a long run up, but could only blast the ball over the bar. The score remains 1 - 2. Fantaclub2008's R. Giovinazzo showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 1 - 3. spurg's A. Barucha didn't look like he was confident as he stepped up, and produced a badly struck penalty - right into the arms of F. Valentin. The score remained 1 - 3. Fantaclub2008's İ. Özercan drove the ball hard to the corner but couldn't get it past the outstretched arm of A. Barucha. The score remains 1 - 3. spurg's S. Regelin didn't hesitate but F. Valentin managed the save, resulting in an unchanged 1 - 3 score. Fantaclub2008's V. Garoldi made no mistake. A. Barucha didn't have a chance. 1 - 4. spurg's D. Buunk was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 2 - 4! Fantaclub2008's K. Taskov coolly put the ball past A. Barucha. 2 - 5. spurg's top performer was clearly D. Buunk. S. Casino on the other hand, had a terrible day. The most dominating Fantaclub2008 player was without a doubt N. Jakab. On the other hand, F. Valentin's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 5.