Koninklijke 2 - 4 schoppers (393040277)

The 27180 spectators at Space Dome were in for an afternoon of sunshine. Kristof Vandepitte was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Manuel Andrich and Moritz Milanic. Everyone was excited about the upcoming Antwerpen derby and the crowd was divided evenly. A 3-4-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Koninklijke. The following players took the field: Paiva - Meng, Brekveld, Dalcq - Gigante, Amorim, Macikowski, Radresa - Vis, Impilä, Kusé.

schoppers had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Suwała - Bastos, Vergult, Lestuzzi - Camões, Coolen, Fährberg, Juvin, Barizza - Nevland, Eckeln.

Koninklijke seemed to prefer attacking in the middle. It was obvious that team Koninklijke had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. T. Impilä gave Koninklijke the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Koninklijke's C. Macikowski increasing the lead to 2 - 0. The players of Koninklijke now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, E. Gigante got himself booked. The manager of Koninklijke was not happy. C. Macikowski had a fantastic opportunity to put Koninklijke up another goal 42 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. schoppers fought on and, after 43 minutes, J. Camões was able to reduce the deficit to 2 - 1 after some excellent moves on the right side were finished off with an incredibly clever chip. It was 2 - 1 at the break. schoppers enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 56 percent of possession.

Koninklijke nearly produced a goal as F. Kusé set up N. Radresa for a strike from a seemingly impossible angle. However he put the shot narrowly wide. The bench was restless, and with 50 minutes passed schoppers's coach gave J. Bohtorp the opportunity the player had been hoping for. G. Lestuzzi reluctantly left the field. The crowd was silenced 61 minutes into the match as the visiting team's J. Nevland came in from the left, levelling the score to 2 - 2. Koninklijke had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. Koninklijke's T. Impilä tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. schoppers's counterattacks created a good chance for F. Barizza on the right after 65 minutes, but he could only look on with dismay as his strike rebounded off the crossbar. 72 minutes into the game, schoppers wanted to bring some new energy to their game. É. Eckeln gave M. Weller a quick hug as he left the field. After 76 minutes, Koninklijke's F. Kusé fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! After 80 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by schoppers was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options. After 81 minutes, Koninklijke began to show their lack of experience and they threatened to wilt under the heavy pressure from their opposition. The intense heat forced N. Radresa into making some errors because he couldn't seem to keep up with the others. F. Kusé of Koninklijke received a yellow card after 85 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. The schoppers free kick 86 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of F. Barizza, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 2 - 3! 87 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 2 - 4 as M. Weller finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. F. Barizza wanted to play on, but the schoppers coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 87 minutes into the game by C. Marras. schoppers had most of the ball, with 60 percent of possession.

The most dominating Koninklijke player was without a doubt T. Impilä. N. Paiva turned in a dismal performance, however. schoppers's top performer was clearly P. Bastos. However, C. Marras made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 2 - 4.