Alfavad 2 - 1 Limmattal (393123284)

Due to an all-day shower, 2729 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Alfavad Arena. Daniel Gau was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Maik Trautwein and Dragan Drakulić. Alfavad tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. They fielded: Lerche - Margies, Hapek, Peressotti, Grubbe - Korpi, de Araújo, Kakarnakis, Kośmider, Chesneau - Apaydın.

Limmattal decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Chessa - Rulski, Palafox Luna, Pasenko - Kalderon, Brönimann, Hochwild, Braunwalder, Toš - Tännler, Candraja.

The wings were the focus of most of Alfavad's attacks today. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when D. Tännler was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 5 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! A. Grubbe slipped and slithered in the wet grass. His usual rapid runs were nowhere to be seen today. With 17 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. R. Candraja put the ball away for 0 - 1. Alfavad had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. After 36 minutes Limmattal's R. Candraja limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. With 38 minutes played, W. Rulski of Limmattal fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. With the scoreboard showing that 40 minutes had been played, Limmattal nearly put themselves up another goal after U. Toš came through on the left. Fortunately for the home crowd, the keeper made the save. 0 - 1 was the halftime score. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Limmattal, with 52 percent of the ball.

Maybe due to the uphill battle the team was facing, the Alfavad manager looked to change things around. After 69 minutes, A. Chesneau and D. Kakarnakis swapped positions on the field. Alfavad put pressure on the visitors' central defence 72 minutes into the game, but A. Grubbe couldn't find an opening. J. Hochwild came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over N. Lerche but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. M. de Araújo of Alfavad seemed to be floating in the air as he elegantly headed in to make the score 1 - 1 after a corner kick that was nicely executed by M. Apaydın. Alfavad's M. de Araújo tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. The muddy pitch made the game a gritty affair, which seemed to suit E. Peressotti just fine. K. Kośmider of Alfavad was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. After some beautiful movement down the left wing, T. Margies scored for Alfavad putting them ahead 2 - 1, after 86 minutes. Alfavad enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 55 percent of possession.

Alfavad's best player was M. Apaydın. A. Grubbe was a disappointment, however. J. Hochwild performed admirably for Limmattal. B. Pasenko turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 1.