Kickers 1 - 7 Linz (393260536)

It was an exceptionally sunny day for the crowd of 1644 that came out to THE HELL. Celestino Lautroup was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kresten Mikkelsen and Nguyễn Công Trứ. Kickers tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Starters: Mastrolia - Kager, Kolar, Hackl - Horvath, Kotásek, Hagen, Kutzer, Huemer - Löberbauer, Steinwender.

Linz started off with a 4-3-3 lineup. Lineup: Kröpfl - Granskog, Herzog, Degn, Němeček - Meister, Bašović, Kozár - Kley, Gross, Zulić.

Linz were relying on their ability to counter-attack. Some things can only be learned through experience, and S. Kutzer should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting Linz a goal with 4 minutes of the match played. 0 - 1 was the score with 6 minutes played, after T. Herzog cut through the central defence and chipped home a goal for Linz. Linz increased their lead after 29 minutes when R. Meister broke through on the right, upping the score to 0 - 2, much to the home crowd's dismay. D. Gross's technique was perfect on this sunny day and led to some breathtaking tricks that bamboozled the defence. A marvellous Kickers effort on the right-hand side resulted in a goal after 33 minutes by R. Steinwender, making the score 1 - 2. The visitors' T. Kley took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 34 minutes into the match. 1 - 3 for Linz. An indecisive keeper looked on as a free kick by Linz's M. Bašović put the visitors up 1 - 4 after 36 minutes. 1 - 4 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Linz, with 57 percent of the ball.

The Linz players could smell victory in the air. D. Zulić wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for J. Tüchler after 46 minutes. After 48 minutes, Linz's C. Kozár burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 1 - 5. C. Kozár could have put his team up another goal 49 minutes into the game, after a rush down the left, but his closing shot hit the post. There was concern in the stands when, at the 52 minute mark, Kickers's R. Steinwender hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. A drive down the left side allowed D. Gross to get in close and score another goal for Linz after 61 minutes, taking the score to 1 - 6. Confident in their lead, Linz's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. T. Kley wanted to play on, but the Linz coach had other ideas, and he was replaced 70 minutes into the game by A. Godharvi. M. Kager of Kickers was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Kickers's A. Horvath left the field after 76 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was P. Kovacevic. P. Kovacevic became the new Kickers captain. D. Gross received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 79 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 1 - 7. The Linz fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. Linz enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 52 percent of possession.

The most dominating Kickers player was without a doubt P. Kovacevic. M. Kager was a disappointment, however. Linz's top performer was clearly A. Godharvi. T. Herzog turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 7.