Clapham 2 - 2 Pelicans (393817123)

Clear skies welcomed the 3249 spectators who had made their way to The Junction. Tom Kromonen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by David Guterres and Jacob Blicher. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Clapham. Lineup: Orosz - Bot, Seyyedi, Ortega, Tallec - Löllö, Salinas, Bodde, Uršnik - Brobst, Mulero.

Pelicans tactics involved an interesting 4-5-1 combination. Starters: Pereira Morais - Venclík, Stepen, Smolders, Klingeman - Cowan, Dybek, Lachmayer, Lemahieu, Cachagee - Burr.

Today, Pelicans's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. After 4 minutes of play, S. Bot gave the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. 21 minutes in, Pelicans appeared unsure on how to play and their organisation was only poor. B. Burr hit the corner kick straight to the keeper, but it was mishandled, giving Pelicans's J. Cowan an easy chance to knock it in for 1 - 1. They were singing the praises of A. Seyyedi 32 minutes into the match after his speculative chip from the middle of the penalty box found its way over the visitors' keeper to make the score 2 - 1 to Clapham. S. Bot could have increased the lead after 36 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. With 40 minutes gone, T. Stepen suddenly found himself completely free on the right wing when a counterattack by Pelicans caught their opponents by surprise. Only a great save by the opposing keeper prevented him from scoring. H. Salinas of Clapham received a yellow card after 41 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. 42 minutes into the game, Clapham had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to weak. Some brilliant football from the visitors' right wing resulted in a levelling of the score as Pelicans's B. Burr put the ball in the onion bag after 43 minutes to make it 2 - 2. It was 2 - 2 at the break. Possession in this half belonged to Clapham, who controlled the ball 60 percent of the time.

During the break, Clapham's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. A review of the gameplan helped Pelicans get back to a passable organisation when the referee blew his whistle again. Clapham's F. Brobst tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when M. Dybek was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 62 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! After 71 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Clapham found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to weak. 74 minutes into the game, M. Lachmayer was a hair's breadth away from giving Pelicans the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by B. Orosz saved the home team that time. 85 minutes into the game, Pelicans seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. Pelicans were determined to attack on the wing and their central attempts were constantly abandoned in favour of the wings. Many thought G. Mulero ought to have been awarded a penalty 87 minutes into the game, as he went down trying to dribble around P. Pereira Morais after a determined run through the middle. Clapham had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

Clapham's best player was F. Brobst. However, A. Seyyedi made a disastrous appearance. Pelicans's top performer was clearly B. Burr. K. Klingeman turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 2 - 2.