Fiorentina 3 - 5 Eversten (393829736)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 2940 had shown up at Fiorentina Arena for the match. Alf Sannes was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Bret Rameder and Magnus Ljungstål. Fiorentina started off with a 3-4-2 lineup. Starters: Beržinis - Zonin, Sibanda, Magnoni - Liobis, Ravelli, Einarsson, Dzičkovskis - Calzón, Palacios.

Eversten had chosen a strategic 5-2-3 formation. The following players took the field: Lanzenstiel - Holletschek, Schenkendorf, Furmans, Kraeussel, Dagdelen - Trunk, Wanisch - Dissau, Wessner, Bramfeld.

Eversten were relying on their ability to counter-attack. Fiorentina fans held their breath as N. Sibanda scampered down the left side. He successfully avoided all challenges and cracked home the shot for 1 - 0! Eversten's opponents know to be wary of E. Bramfeld's speed, but it made little difference as he flew past the defence 10 minutes into the game. Only the keeper could stop him - and he did with a perfectly timed dive! The visitors' equaliser seemed sure to come after 27 minutes, following a one on one situation around the left hand side of the goal area, but G. Beržinis got the best of it, blocking the shot from R. Dagdelen. Fiorentina increased the lead as D. Einarsson struck to make the score 2 - 0 after an attack from the left left him unmarked in front of the keeper. 31 minutes into the game, Fiorentina seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to inadequate. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 0. Possession was split evenly between the teams.

The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that Fiorentina had solid organisation. R. Schenkendorf was first to reach a ball launched long through the center from Eversten's defence 57 minutes into the game. He managed to keep his cool and beat the goalkeeper to make the score 2 - 1. 70 minutes into the game, Fiorentina had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to passable. The visitors refused to give in and, after 71 minutes, R. Dagdelen evened things up as he finished off a perfect pass from the right. 2 - 2 R. Dagdelen of Eversten was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. The visiting S. Wessner was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 77 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 2 - 3 was the score. E. Bramfeld received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 78 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 2 - 4. The Eversten fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. A well placed corner kick from E. Magnoni was followed by N. Sibanda's hard but accurate header. The well executed routine resulted in a goal for Fiorentina, the score now 3 - 4. With 82 minutes played, Eversten put themselves up 3 - 5 after an attack from the right, caused by a defensive blunder. The scorer was F. Wanisch. Fiorentina had most of the ball, with 51 percent of possession.

A. Zonin performed admirably for Fiorentina. G. Beržinis was a disappointment, however. Eversten's best player was P. Trunk. On the other hand, R. Schenkendorf's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 5.