Toppie!!! 6 - 5 jappies (393782035)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Toppie!!! Arena saw a crowd turnout of 60000. Ivo Alma was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Anton Ignatenko and Franz Schmid. Toppie!!! decided to use a 3-5-2 set up. The following players took the field: Mini - Sneppe, Marot, Elegheert - Peemans, Meghen, Poncelet, Durieux, Paakkolanvaara - Pyöli, Salamanca.

jappies started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. They fielded: Mertens - Wickby, Wełnic, Ribeiro - Fiacre, Clauw, Claus, Werrion, Lehner - Keymis, Pålsson.

jappies's R. Ribeiro could have put the guests one up after 6 minutes after chasing a through ball from the right, but P. Mini was as fast as a snake, grabbing the ball from under his nose. 12 minutes in, jappies's T. Keymis received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Toppie!!! took the lead 31 minutes into the game by 1 - 0, as H. Durieux elegantly received a long range pass through the middle, finishing off with a half-volley shot just below the bar. Toppie!!!'s B. Meghen had an excellent opportunity after 35 minutes, shooting after receiving a pass from the right hand side, but he missed the goal by miles! jappies's A. Werrion had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 42 minutes having been played. E. Tomov was the replacement. G. Salamanca sailed high above the opponents as he headed in a corner kick from B. Meghen after 43 minutes of play, making the score 2 - 0. After this, you could see that the players of Toppie!!! were more interested in killing time than scoring more goals. The visitors got a chance to pulling one back after 44 minutes, due to a defensive blunder leaving T. Keymis completely unmarked. His strike was pathetic though, easy prey for the home side's keeper. 2 - 0 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Toppie!!!, with 51 percent of the ball.

Ater 48 minutes R. Wickby seized on an opportunistic attack from the right, and scored for jappies making it 2 - 1. The Toppie!!! players could smell victory in the air. G. Salamanca wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for C. Grammatico after 60 minutes. T. Keymis came close to levelling the score 68 minutes into the game, as he was set up with a through ball coming in from the left, but his shot hit the post. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Toppie!!! coach let J. Henrot replace S. Marot after 75 minutes. Some brilliant football from the visitors' right wing resulted in a levelling of the score as jappies's T. Keymis put the ball in the onion bag after 76 minutes to make it 2 - 2. Toppie!!! had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

Still tied after 90 minutes, the match continued into extra time. Toppie!!!'s J. Paakkolanvaara got himself booked for a foul. jappies were forced into a substitution as F. Mertens couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing I. Busselot to come in off the bench. M. Wełnic came close to putting the visiting team one up 98 minutes into the match, following a solo raid down the middle, but P. Mini managed to tip the ball to a corner. There was still no winner after 30 minutes of extra time so the teams had to select a lineup for a penalty shoot-out to settle the result.

Toppie!!!'s P. Mini showed he has nerves of steel when it comes to penalties, easily changing the score to 3 - 2. jappies's A. Fiacre coolly put the ball past P. Mini. 3 - 3. Toppie!!!'s B. Meghen was relaxed as he smoothly put the ball in the net. 4 - 3! jappies's J. Clauw kept his cool as he faced down P. Mini. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 4 - 4. A confident T. Poncelet of Toppie!!! put the ball right where he wanted, but I. Busselot was right there for the save. No goal. Boy, does T. Keymis of jappies know how to treat a football or what?! He's curled that shot past the keeper and into the top corner of the goal - a great penalty! 4 - 5. Toppie!!!'s G. Elegheert made no mistake. I. Busselot didn't have a chance. 5 - 5. jappies's D. Claus penalty shot was very well placed but P. Mini went the right way, blocking it spectacularly. The score was still 5 - 5. Toppie!!!'s J. Paakkolanvaara kept his cool as he faced down I. Busselot. His composure paid off as he scored easily for 6 - 5. jappies's R. Wickby cockily booted the ball with a short-and-fast instep. The penalty, going just wide of the mark, didn't produce a goal. Toppie!!!'s best player was H. Pyöli. However, B. Meghen made a disastrous appearance. Most important jappies player was R. Pålsson. I. Busselot on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 6 - 5.