Sparta 5 - 2 1860 (393209671)

44836 punters turned up at E-Garten, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Thoralf Matthias was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Juan Aguirrebengoa and Kornel Wezel. Sparta started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Köfner - Hempen, Fabris - Kindbo, Kripl, Lautz, Bassat, Ghinzani - Haass, Felde, Kielmayer.

1860 tactics involved an interesting 4-3-3 combination. Starters: Füllengarten - Udl, Westfechtel, Weckhorft, Dirlmeier - Nierobiś, Billing, Andreani - Oberndorfer, 明福 (Mingfu), Friedrichs.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of 1860. Sparta took the lead after 13 minutes as a result of J. Haass's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 1 - 0. H. Dirlmeier of 1860 was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. T. Felde unleashed a swerving effort from the right that the visitors' keeper did well to tip wide. A swift counterattack by 1860 resulted in a free kick that K. Westfechtel elegantly twisted into the goal - 1 - 1! After 27 minutes, A. Kripl came in from the right, feinted, then sped past the off-balance defender to make the score 2 - 1, giving Sparta the lead. Sparta solidified their lead at the 28 minute mark, as M. Kindbo dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 3 - 1. With 33 minutes played, Sparta put themselves up 4 - 1 when the visiting defenders lost the ball to R. Lautz, who came up from the left and proceeded to coolly round the keeper and knock the ball home. D. Oberndorfer of 1860 was able to make an impressive rush past the sluggish M. Hempen, which resulted in a goal making the score 4 - 2. The 1860 coach was desperate to reverse his team's fortunes in the game, and ordered his team to change strategy. Halftime score was 4 - 2. Sparta claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 78 percent.

After 46 minutes, 1860 used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. Sparta put in a good effort on the right, but J. Haass saw his volley fly wide of the mark 56 minutes into the game. With the clock showing 57 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of 1860 resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by D. Oberndorfer in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. 1860 needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 65 minutes G. Billing made way for V. Mödlin. D. Udl was handed the 1860 captain's armband. 70 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as T. Felde broke through, making the score 5 - 2 for Sparta. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Sparta lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. The 1860 players listened closely to their manager, as he gave new tactical instructions for the team. The bench was restless, and with 80 minutes passed 1860's coach gave S. Błajszczak the opportunity the player had been hoping for. D. Udl reluctantly left the field. As the captain was no longer on the pitch, S. Błajszczak took over the role of being the 1860 captain. Sparta will have to do without M. Hempen for a time, due to a bad foot injury at the 88 minute mark. He was substituted by D. Kaltenbach. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Sparta, with 77 percent of the ball.

The most dominating Sparta player was without a doubt T. Felde. W. Kielmayer turned in a dismal performance, however. 1860's top performer was clearly F. Friedrichs. However, K. Nierobiś made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 5 - 2.