rcl62 3 - 2 PQ (393230068)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 60695 to Awassa Kenema. Aadolf Seppi was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Georg Wohlkönig and Geert-Jan Esselink. rcl62 decided to use a 3-4-3 set up. Lineup: Ravat - Cadène, Villemur, Métois - Barry, Larose, Cantet, Delor - Bosse, Leclaire, Hbecha.

PQ tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Bachman - Van Elsen, Dunajský, Blomén - Vieri, Bonny, Pinochet, Winzer, Houle - Zidarević, Hansson.

11 minutes in, rcl62's H. Métois received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. C. Vieri was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so PQ's A. Pias had to come off the bench. The referee showed rcl62's J. Villemur the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Down the middle came A. Zidarević, making a fantastic play that nearly had PQ take the lead after 20 minutes, but M. Ravat preserved the tie. rcl62 took the lead after 22 minutes as a result of B. Hbecha's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 1 - 0. M. Ravat's name was chanted throughout the stadium after he made a fantastic save from A. Pias's shot from the left 27 minutes into the match. rcl62 solidified their lead at the 28 minute mark, as C. Bosse dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 2 - 0. After this, you could see that the players of rcl62 were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. 32 minutes into the game, F. Leclaire had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came S. Naveau. PQ kept trying to force their way through on the right side and J. Bonny got his chance after 35 minutes, but the home side's defence held their position and stopped the attack. A. Zidarević enjoyed the sunshine and demonstrated his stunning technique over and over again. A bit later, PQ's A. Blomén easily reduced the lead to 2 - 1 after a misunderstanding in the home side's central defence. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. PQ claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 52 percent.

PQ had a chance to level the score as P. Van Elsen suddenly found himself free in the middle of the box with only the keeper to beat, but he misjudged the finish, and only managed to hit the bar. With the clock showing 53 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of rcl62 resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by H. Métois in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. The visitors were awarded a penalty by the referee 72 minutes into the match, much to the anger of the home crowd. M. Hansson took advantage of the situation and scored to make it 2 - 2. PQ enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

Still tied after 90 minutes, the match continued into extra time. S. Naveau gave rcl62 the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 3 - 2 Extra time over, rcl62 were the victors! rcl62's top performer was clearly A. Barry. However, B. Hbecha made a disastrous appearance. A. Zidarević performed admirably for PQ. On the other hand, A. Blomén's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 2.