Arsenal 2 - 1 Erdoglija (393413589)

Due to an all-day shower, 51146 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Thierry Henry Arena. Stanislaw Natorski was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Aleks Iwaniec and Laimnesis Birzītis. Arsenal started off with a 4-5-1 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Barović - Šakić, van Wouw, Ćetojević, Baletić - Prešnjak, Krstić, Romanik, Balković, Radović - Pop.

A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Erdoglija. They fielded: Vujanović - Subašić, Eliašik - Velimirović, Zarić, Sudár, Suljević, Lapčić - Gaál, Bakočević, Kostadinović.

Today, Erdoglija's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. Erdoglija's S. Bakočević's long shot really ought to have found the net 6 minutes into the match, but it fell just wide of the target. Erdoglija had to make a substitution after 12 minutes. N. Zarić limped off the field and was replaced by M. Ilić. Slack defending gave Arsenal a chance to take the lead with 21 minutes played, but A. Pop's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. Erdoglija's A. Gaál was shown a yellow card after 29 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Due to a severely mistimed tackle, M. Prešnjak of Arsenal spent some time on the grass writhing in agony before he could get up and continue the game. M. Prešnjak's lightning pace was too much for M. Ilić who could only look on as the Arsenal player blasted one home. 1 - 0. B. van Wouw, who often relies on his speed, had a rotten day on the drenched grass. 44 minutes into the match, V. Velimirović bent a free kick around the home team's defensive formation, leaving the keeper with no chance for a save. Erdoglija had levelled the scoreline at 1 - 1. After a fine move down the middle D. Radović nearly gave the home side a goal after 44 minutes. However the finishing shot went just wide. Arsenal's M. Prešnjak had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 44 minutes having been played. V. Rnić was the replacement. The teams went for the halftime break at 1 - 1. Possession was split evenly between the teams.

Priding himself in being an active coach, the Erdoglija manager gave new instructions to his players after 52 minutes. 66 minutes into the game, Erdoglija wanted to bring some new energy to their game. S. Bakočević gave I. Gurović a quick hug as he left the field. After 69 minutes, the Erdoglija coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving V. Vujanović off the field. M. Popović took his place. Unfortunately for Erdoglija, G. Kostadinović suffered a concussion after 86 minutes and had to be taken for tests. The coach had his head in his hands after realising he could not send a replacement onto the pitch, and the team had to continue a man short. They were singing the praises of G. Baletić 87 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 2 - 1 to Arsenal. As the match clock reached 88 minutes, Arsenal's organisation began to suffer due to a lack of experience. A. Pop could have put Arsenal up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 88 minutes. There was concern in the stands when, at the 89 minute mark, Arsenal's G. Baletić hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

Arsenal's best player was A. Pop. V. Rnić was a disappointment, however. Erdoglija's top performer was clearly A. Sudár. On the other hand, Z. Subašić's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 1.