menjo 1 - 2 SaJa (393349883)

Due to an all-day shower, 2631 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at F.C. menjo Arena. Florian Czarnik was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ruven Badmann and Nelutu Acatrinei. menjo decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players had been chosen: Pinto Jr. - Warmelink, Buitendijk, van Zwam - Thuland, de Klaver, van Duiven, Klöters, Kolenbrander - van Egters, Beets.

SaJa started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Savic - D'Ascanio, Veratti, Skurzewski - Panek, Wiesbauer, Desgro, Stapf, Lee - Watschull, Sampl.

SaJa used their ability to concentrate their attacks in the middle of the pitch, rather than on the wings. menjo will have to do without D. van Zwam for a time, due to a bad foot injury at the 11 minute mark. He was substituted by P. de Bruyne. SaJa's P. D'Ascanio got himself booked for a foul. SaJa took the lead 26 minutes into the game, making the score 0 - 1 after some elegant movement down the middle. E. Veratti was the scorer. menjo's T. Beets put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 1 - 1 with 32 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. 38 minutes in, SaJa's E. Veratti received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The muddy pitch made the game a gritty affair, which seemed to suit E. Buitendijk just fine. The boggy pitch disrupted the game, especially for technical players like T. Beets. SaJa took the lead after 41 minutes making the score 1 - 2. V. Wiesbauer placed the ball out of reach for the home side's keeper after a fine move, coming in from the left. menjo's R. van Duiven was shown a yellow card after 42 minutes for slicing down an opponent. SaJa's P. D'Ascanio made it through the home team's defence on the right hand side 43 minutes into the match. After rounding the keeper, he only had to place the ball in the unguarded goal when a defender slid in and cleared the ball off the line. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 2. Possession in this half belonged to menjo, who controlled the ball 51 percent of the time.

The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave V. Wiesbauer from SaJa a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 55 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! menjo were forced into a substitution as M. Klöters couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing C. Bodde to come in off the bench. After 60 minutes, E. Buitendijk got through on the right and was very close to equalising for the home side, but didn't get the shot away. The referee showed SaJa's D. Panek the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. The referee showed menjo's T. Beets the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. After 75 minutes, menjo used a short break in the game to take new instructions from their coach. menjo had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

C. Bodde performed admirably for menjo. T. Beets turned in a dismal performance, however. The most dominating SaJa player was without a doubt P. D'Ascanio. However, D. Panek made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 1 - 2.