MPOTILIES 3 - 4 CHATTEAM (393369792)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 2602 at MOUKIS Arena today. Herwig Schuler was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jorgen Sebastian Kas and Philip Sheard. MPOTILIES started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Skotnes - Bauer, Konstantakos, Frassanito - Albin, Venneker, Machielsen, Névès, Michalitsis - de la Villa, Fernández-Espartero.

CHATTEAM tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. Lineup: Arione - Nawrot, Buraco, Zsiborás, Pasquier - Cimmiagnelli, Arrabal, Ferruces, Crosia - Gambihler, Vallesi.

MPOTILIES used their skill at pressing to cut off the attack angles of their opponents all over the field. The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 3 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from G. de la Villa, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave C. Crosia from CHATTEAM a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 4 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Due to a severely mistimed tackle, G. de la Villa of MPOTILIES spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. MPOTILIES's G. de la Villa had an excellent opportunity after 14 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! CHATTEAM's counterattack was impressive and was only stopped by a shocking foul. Somehow, the referee's cards remained in his pocket - a terrible decision! M. Ferruces's resulting free kick was easily saved by the keeper. MPOTILIES solidified their lead at the 17 minute mark, as D. Konstantakos dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 2 - 0. Confident in their lead, MPOTILIES's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. CHATTEAM's L. Cimmiagnelli lived up to his reputation for finding unexpected ways to get the ball in the net when he sent a nifty little pass over to J. Vallesi who finished for 2 - 1 with 29 minutes of the match played. J. Vallesi made a run for the goal 31 minutes into the game but the home team's left back managed to sort the situation out in the end. 2 - 1 was the halftime score. MPOTILIES had most of the ball, with 54 percent of possession.

The visitors' C. Crosia was alert after a cross coming in from the left, levelling the score at 2 - 2 after 65 minutes. MPOTILIES pressed their opponents, causing the game to be a bit of a stalemate at times. F. Gambihler came close to putting the visiting team one up 84 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but E. Skotnes managed to tip the ball to a corner. MPOTILIES took the lead after 85 minutes as a result of G. de la Villa's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 3 - 2. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, CHATTEAM's L. Cimmiagnelli somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for J. Vallesi, who struck for 3 - 3. 89 minutes into the game, J. Vallesi almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. MPOTILIES enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

After the regular 90 minutes, the agony of extra time followed. A penalty was given after 96 minutes, allowing the visitors to gain the lead: 3 - 4. M. Ferruces was the scorer. Extra time over, CHATTEAM were the victors! Most important MPOTILIES player was G. de la Villa. A. Michalitsis turned in a dismal performance, however. CHATTEAM's top performer was clearly J. Vallesi. On the other hand, F. Gambihler's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 4.