COL4EVER 1 - 6 Torres_SLB (393238607)

41000 fans braved the pouring rain at Carlos Salema Arena. Jan Mjøen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Olly Duncan and Oiva Paananen. COL4EVER had chosen a strategic 5-3-2 formation. Lineup: Sanhueza - Cornuau, Macés, Stabellini, Becker, Mottram - Kazmierczak, Sayans, Aykal - Mpenakis, Pena.

A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Torres_SLB. The following players took the field: Ovdeenko - Kamarinopoulos, Redzin - Medvedchikov, Lenouvel, Cardoso Martins, Takáč, Wäger - Eibauer, Gânsac, Esgueira.

For their match strategy, COL4EVER had decided to use their ability to counter-attack whenever possible. With 12 minutes played A. Mpenakis almost put the home team one ahead on a cross coming in from the right, but the shot went just wide. 25 minutes into the game, Torres_SLB wanted to bring some new energy to their game. P. Lenouvel gave U. Özgenç a quick hug as he left the field. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 25 minutes into the match, and B. Takáč wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. After 31 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave V. Gânsac a chance to increase the lead for Torres_SLB, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 2. V. Gânsac of Torres_SLB took advantage of a mistake on the home side's right after 40 minutes which increased the away team's lead to 0 - 3. The players of Torres_SLB now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. COL4EVER showed their counterattack skill 43 minutes into the match by breaking through the middle, with J. Sayans scoring uncontested for 1 - 3. B. Cardoso Martins really should have scored when he was chosen by fate to confront a wide open goal following a great play by B. Takáč after a corner. 1 - 3 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to Torres_SLB, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

After 60 minutes, COL4EVER switched J. Sayans with M. Juvanec, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. As the captain was no longer on the pitch, J. Sanhueza took over the role of being the COL4EVER captain. With 70 minutes played, the COL4EVER coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. M. Maia came on, A. Mpenakis had to leave the fray. Given a free kick close to the byline, Torres_SLB tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let V. Gânsac slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 1 - 4, 73 minutes into the game. That was his third goal of the match - a hat trick for V. Gânsac. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, COL4EVER's İ. Aykal was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 75 minutes. R. Paula was given a chance to change things around. COL4EVER had no available replacements when J. Sanhueza had to leave the game after 75 minutes because of a pulled tendon, leaving the team a man short. M. Maia bravely took on the responsibilities of the departed goalkeeper. The COL4EVER captaincy was handed to M. Pena. 77 minutes into the game, COL4EVER seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. The visitors' D. Esgueira took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 87 minutes into the match. 1 - 5 for Torres_SLB. V. Ovdeenko wanted to play on, but the Torres_SLB coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 89 minutes into the game by S. Küenzi. After 89 minutes, Torres_SLB's G. Eibauer burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 1 - 6. Torres_SLB enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 67 percent of possession.

COL4EVER's top performer was clearly M. Pena. M. Maia turned in a dismal performance, however. V. Gânsac performed admirably for Torres_SLB. S. Küenzi was a disappointment, however. The match ends 1 - 6.