Spartak 2 - 5 Drakenvuur (393797117)

635 punters turned up at Luzhniki, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Alexander Broer was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Sietse Harding and Ulf Holen. Spartak tactics involved an interesting 5-5-0 combination. The following players took the field: Van de Logt - Rodrigues Rosário, Hovenkamp, Colen, Huang, Kunst - Stoutjesdijk, Barreveld, Oosterling, Jensen, van der Luyt -.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Drakenvuur. Starters: Boschma - Castello, van Ettekoven, Gstaltner - Gurowitsch, Olabarriaga, Raux, Crosby, Thorstensson - Wanninger, Pilstedt.

4 minutes into the match, a typically brave header by S. Thorstensson from A. Gurowitsch's cross looped just over the opposing goalkeeper's desperate reach. Goal for Drakenvuur, making the score 0 - 1. The home crowd was not impressed when O. Pilstedt came in from the right, shooting hard to score after 6 minutes. Drakenvuur were now up 0 - 2. A. Barreveld tried to get a goal back for Spartak but despite all his hard work down the right, he just couldn't complete the move. 0 - 2 was the score after the first half. Drakenvuur enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 53 percent of possession.

A quick free kick deep in the opponent's half found T. van der Luyt, who produced a brilliant first touch to send it flying beyond the keeper into the net. This reduced the away team's lead to 1 - 2. 59 minutes in, Drakenvuur's B. Gstaltner received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Spartak's V. Rodrigues Rosário refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 73 minutes. After 73 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for B. Crosby who increased Drakenvuur's lead to 1 - 3. Drakenvuur increased their lead after 78 minutes when F. Olabarriaga broke through on the right, upping the score to 1 - 4, much to the home crowd's dismay. After 81 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed K. Wanninger to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 1 - 5. By now, the players in Drakenvuur felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. With 82 minutes on the clock, T. van der Luyt surprised the guests' goalkeeper with a snappy free kick, which reduced their lead to 2 - 5. G. Oosterling of Spartak was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. Drakenvuur claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.

G. Jensen performed admirably for Spartak. T. Kunst on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Drakenvuur player was K. Wanninger. A. Boschma was a disappointment, however. The match ends 2 - 5.