Hazledene 3 - 4 The Mints (393599872)

Due to an all-day shower, 1396 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at Pinewood Stadium. Franz Josef Dreier was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Niklas Ritter and Paolo Castellano. Hazledene tactics involved an interesting 3-3-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Micklewright - Młotkowski, Driesse, Yahalom - Tan, Lauxmann, Ewing - Goldstein, Rajković.

The Mints started off with a 2-5-3 lineup. They fielded: Möllerung - Burli, McStay - Buccan, Greenstock, Giordanengo, MacKylearan, Del Muto - Buckler, Watson, Horváth.

M. Horváth spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch. The most controversial moment of the game was likely the penalty given after 23 minutes. The Mints's M. MacKylearan kept his concentration, despite the upset crowd, and calmly put the ball past the keeper to make the score 0 - 1. J. Micklewright got a fingertip on D. Del Muto's shot from the left 29 minutes in, and managed to keep the visitors from going up another goal. G. Buccan of The Mints received a yellow card after 32 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. With 34 minutes played, D. Yahalom of Hazledene fell dramatically just outside the penalty area. However, the referee was unimpressed, and booked him for diving. After 36 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed F. Watson to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 2. With 39 minutes on the clock, L. Driesse surprised the guests' goalkeeper with a snappy free kick, which reduced their lead to 1 - 2. Halftime score was 1 - 2. Possession in this half belonged to The Mints, who controlled the ball 57 percent of the time.

K. Buckler increased the visitors' lead by putting a volley away after a pass from the right. 1 - 3. V. Burli of The Mints was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. V. Burli's lack of experience almost gave Hazledene a goal after 69 minutes, but the shot went right into the keeper's arms. After 73 minutes, The Mints's K. Buckler burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 1 - 4. L. Driesse was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. Hazledene refused to be intimidated and, breaking through the middle, M. Tan managed to slip the ball home for 2 - 4. 82 minutes into the game, Hazledene had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to passable. M. Horváth was, after 83 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper J. Micklewright made the save. Hazledene's M. Tan was shown a yellow card after 84 minutes for slicing down an opponent. 85 minutes into the game, Hazledene seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a passable level of organisation. 88 minutes into the game, Hazledene seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to weak. A well placed corner kick from L. Driesse was followed by W. Lauxmann's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Hazledene, the score now 3 - 4. The Mints had most of the ball, with 59 percent of possession.

Hazledene's best player was B. Goldstein. However, J. Micklewright made a disastrous appearance. M. Horváth performed admirably for The Mints. B. McStay on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 4.