NightElf 3 - 7 Abbakchukgu (393594352)

74554 spectators had come to FC NightElf Arena this cloudy day. Philip Alexander Lich was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Adrián Lluesma and Sulayman Dhaoui. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for NightElf. The following players took the field: Cluzel - Kim, Legrain, Lee - Karhunen, Kim, Lim, Song, Frosio - Hollerbeck, Morais.

Abbakchukgu started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. Lineup: Lamfré - Fernández Madrigal, Camacho, Foster - Illiano, Brodolini, Runkle, Grießinger, Brokmose - Ohtonen, Consolo.

NightElf clearly preferred using their ability to attack in the middle. Abbakchukgu were mostly trying to use their skill at attacking on the flanks. After 15 minutes, Abbakchukgu put themselves up 0 - 1, as E. Ohtonen finished off a strike from the left with a real cannonball of a shot. In a well-rehearsed move, C. Hollerbeck delivered a free kick into the box for NightElf. An attacker shaped to head the ball, distracting the keeper, but it avoided everyone and crept in at the far post! 1 - 1! The home side put themselves ahead 2 - 1 after 25 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from S. Song, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. The crowd was silenced 28 minutes into the match as the visiting team's J. Runkle came in from the left, levelling the score to 2 - 2. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave S. Brokmose from Abbakchukgu a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 30 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! With 35 minutes played, the visitors broke through on the right after some poor defending. G. Consolo put the ball away for 2 - 3. Halftime score was 2 - 3. Possession in this half belonged to NightElf, who controlled the ball 54 percent of the time.

Boom! What a strike by Abbakchukgu's J. Grießinger! Firing in from 35 yards after 50 minutes, that is probably one of the best goals he's ever scored! 2 - 4. With 72 minutes played, a quick exchange of passes on the left wing freed E. Ohtonen of Abbakchukgu to slip through the defence and score another goal for the visitors. That made the score 2 - 5. By now, the players in Abbakchukgu felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. A drive down the left side allowed G. Consolo to get in close and score another goal for Abbakchukgu after 80 minutes, taking the score to 2 - 6. After 84 minutes NightElf's S. Karhunen contracted a slight foot injury, but didn't want to leave the game. With 85 minutes played, C. Hollerbeck's free kick looked like a certain goal for NightElf, but to his teammates' dismay, the keeper managed to tip it wide. NightElf's G. Frosio was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the opposition's box - C. Morais managed to volley one of them into the net to make it 3 - 6 after 87 minutes. The Abbakchukgu free kick 87 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of G. Consolo, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 3 - 7! That made three goals for G. Consolo and he was marked down for the hat trick. S. Karhunen almost reduced the deficit, having drawn the entire left side defence away, but the shot went straight into the arms of the goalkeeper. NightElf enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

S. Song performed admirably for NightElf. J. Cluzel was a disappointment, however. Most important Abbakchukgu player was J. Runkle. However, P. Fernández Madrigal made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 7.