AfraTeam 6 - 5 Football (393481200)

325 punters turned up at EUROSTADIUM, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Emerson Crijnen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Kent Lemström and Totis Paraschakis. A 4-5-1 alignment was the formation of choice for AfraTeam. They fielded: Sutera - Marchettini, Magrì, Bocale, Stevanella - Montagnini, Balestiero, Alegi, Fanesi, Uburti - Alessi.

Football decided to use a 4-3-3 set up. The following players took the field: Compassi - Fiano, Buffon, Gobber, Inadignal - Traversi, Alippi, Shahu - Bahl, Heßloch, Embracher.

The wings were the focus of most of AfraTeam's attacks today. Football mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. 2 minutes into the match and the home team took a 1 - 0 lead after breaking through on the left. The scorer for AfraTeam was P. Uburti. 14 minutes into the game, AfraTeam seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a inadequate level of organisation. After 16 minutes, the visitors tied it up at 1 - 1 when a fantastic pass from the left was finished off by T. Heßloch. With 19 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 2 - 1 lead as E. Fanesi flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. 24 minutes into the match the visitors levelled the score at 2 - 2 as T. Heßloch struck home from a rebound off the crossbar, following a shot from the right. Football were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally. After 28 minutes, Football's P. Buffon made his way through the middle and nonchalantly placed the ball out of the keeper's reach, putting the visitors up 2 - 3. 29 minutes into the match, AfraTeam's N. Alegi maneuvered his way around the opposition on the left flank, delighting the crowd with his twists and turns. The effort paid off as the ball found the back of the net, evening the score at 3 - 3. The terraces were silenced after 33 minutes when Football's C. Gobber put the guests ahead 3 - 4, following an attack on the right. It was 3 - 4 at the break. AfraTeam claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 53 percent.

The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that AfraTeam had solid organisation. After 56 minutes P. Uburti made a speedy advance and dropped the ball to T. Alessi who shuffled it past the keeper. The score was now 4 - 4. Football took the lead 59 minutes into the game, making the score 4 - 5 after some elegant movement down the middle. J. Embracher was the scorer. After 64 minutes, AfraTeam switched M. Balestiero with N. Focardi, hoping for a quick impact on the pitch. The crowd roared in delight as N. Focardi finished off a spectacular series of passes through the middle to even the score for AfraTeam 64 minutes into the match. 5 - 5. 67 minutes into the game, AfraTeam seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. 72 minutes of the match played, and a comedy of errors by the home side gave the visitors a chance at the lead, but C. Gobber, after finding himself dashing down on goal from the left with only the keeper to beat, sliced his shot horribly wide. A. Shahu fired a shot from distance after 73 minutes, but the long shot couldn't find the net for Football. After 74 minutes, the AfraTeam coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving N. Alegi off the field. A. Engravslia took his place. AfraTeam fans held their breath as N. Focardi scampered down the left side. He successfully avoided all challenges and cracked home the shot for 6 - 5! Football's V. Traversi was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 80 minutes. It was obvious that team Football had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 82 minutes, A. Shahu broke through the centre and found himself alone with the keeper. S. Sutera made a great block, though. Football had most of the ball, with 52 percent of possession.

AfraTeam's best player was T. Alessi. S. Sutera on the other hand, had a terrible day. Football's top performer was clearly J. Embracher. B. Fiano turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 6 - 5.