Bears 4 - 0 Grips (393549913)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 3232 at The Bear's Hat Shop today. Wisnu Hasan was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Frank Abma and Ignacio Giunta. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Bears. The following players had been chosen: Carvajal - Holton, Shakespeare, Zachar - Johnson, Falcone, Kląskała, Santoliquido, Pesce - Areggo, Bohrenkämper.

Grips had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. Starters: Bengtsson - Hansson, Gunnarsson, Islind, Stensson - Vlaar, Pajuste, Grönlund, Ragona - Ericsson, Nisswald.

T. Kląskała gave Bears the lead as he successfully challenged the guests' central defenders, then slotted the ball into the bottom corner, giving the keeper no chance. 1 - 0 23 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as O. Pesce broke through, making the score 2 - 0 for Bears. G. Areggo should probably have put his team up another goal after 28 minutes, but some great goalkeeping by M. Bengtsson kept the visitors in the game. Grips's K. Vlaar set up a perfect opportunity for E. Ragona, but the latter failed to score. G. Areggo dispatched a majestic long shot 34 minutes into the match, but missed the goal by a few metres. 2 - 0 was the halftime score. Bears had most of the ball, with 71 percent of possession.

Bears put in a good effort on the right, but A. Shakespeare saw his volley fly wide of the mark 54 minutes into the game. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. L. Santoliquido squirmed through their central defence after 67 minutes, increasing the lead to 3 - 0. D. Islind got left behind when Bears's G. Areggo made a sudden run forward after 69 minutes, finishing off with a neat strike. 4 - 0! Confident in their lead, Bears's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. Bears's A. Shakespeare saw his fine effort strike the top of the bar following some good work up the middle by his teammates after 75 minutes. With 80 minutes played, Bears's G. Areggo almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. After 81 minutes Bears's G. Falcone limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Coming from the right, P. Zachar almost managed to score another goal for Bears, but his header was tipped over the bar by the visitors' keeper. Bears claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 71 percent.

The most dominating Bears player was without a doubt B. Bohrenkämper. On the other hand, F. Carvajal's play was disheartening. Grips's best player was E. Ragona. H. Stensson turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 4 - 0.