Betis 3 - 2 Child (393427671)

The crowd of 3043 turning up at Emile Arena today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Massimo Casino was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Gustav Tillmar and Věroslav Pláňavský. A 2-5-3 alignment was the formation of choice for Betis. The following players took the field: Ruso - Brauer, Giaccio - Niehof, Illovszky, von Schrottenberg, Klangbrant, Aldunate - Gottschalk, Zgraggen, Minonzio.

Child decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. They fielded: Iswanda - Lovrin, Dyrland, Raja - Fitado, Ignácz, Urmeneta, Woerl, Szerencsi - Fodor, Dalyrample.

Making his way up the middle 2 minutes into the match, A. Klangbrant almost managed to squeeze a goal past the visitors' keeper, but the alert M. Iswanda blocked it to keep the score level. 11 minutes in, Betis appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only passable. Slack defending gave Betis a chance to take the lead with 14 minutes played, but J. Zgraggen's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. The visiting M. Dalyrample was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 16 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 0 - 1 was the score. M. Minonzio charged down the left and had a wonderful opportunity to score the equaliser for Betis, but the shot went well wide of the goal. E. Ruso got a fingertip on Z. Szerencsi's shot from the left 33 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. 38 minutes into the match, A. Ignácz came through the middle and almost added to his team's lead, but the shot went wide. M. Minonzio was just a finger's breadth away from an equaliser for Betis with a strike from the left, but M. Iswanda managed to ward the shot off for a corner. 41 minutes into the game, Betis seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. With 42 minutes played, S. Brauer of Betis fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. 0 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Betis, with 53 percent of the ball.

Despite his frustration resulting in the smashing of a few teacups, the coach of Betis was able to get his message across, and raised Betis's organisation to solid. J. Fodor increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 0 - 2. Confident in their lead, Child's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Child coach let N. Risdianto replace M. Iswanda after 52 minutes. After 61 minutes, Betis switched S. Brauer with G. De Coensel, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. Betis supporters cheered as good work down the right got the ball to J. Zgraggen who reduced the visitors' lead after 65 minutes to 1 - 2. Child's R. Fitado got himself booked for a foul. T. von Schrottenberg's knee will be throbbing for days, but thankfully for Betis, he bravely continued in the match. J. Urmeneta came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over E. Ruso but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. 73 minutes into the game M. Niehof could see that the opposing goalie was out of position and tried an unexpected lob that the keeper just barely reached. The rebound went to J. Zgraggen who failed to hit the target. The referee showed Betis's M. Niehof the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. With the clock showing 77 minutes played, A. Klangbrant equalised for Betis after curling a free kick around the defensive wall to make the score 2 - 2. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave J. Fodor from Child a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 78 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Betis enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 55 percent of possession.

After the regular 90 minutes, the agony of extra time followed. During the break, Betis's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. After 101 minutes of play, G. De Coensel gave the home team a 3 - 2 lead after an attack coming in from the right. With that Betis had won the game in extra time. Betis's best player was G. Illovszky. However, A. Giaccio made a disastrous appearance. Most important Child player was K. Woerl. A. Ignácz was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 2.