Fluminense 3 - 2 FFC (393920761)

1911 punters turned up at Estádio Manoel Congo, Rei do Quilombo, and despite threatening clouds on the horizon, no rain came. Sune Sedflod was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Nuccio Musmarra and Roel Vanlierde. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Fluminense. Starters: Matityahu - Gorodskov, Piterkov, Cochard - Castellana, Thibault, Ghorbani, Hansen, Quadra-Salcedo - Riggs, Maleńczuk.

FFC tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Cerdeira - Szelążek, Kałat, Priebe - Belka, Goersch, Işılak, Caraúba, Chaves Neto - Máximo, Scaratti.

Fluminense had a good opportunity to take the lead as V. Gorodskov came up the left side, but he struck the ball weakly and it went straight into the arms of N. Cerdeira. T. Işılak of FFC received a yellow card after 11 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 30 minutes, Fluminense did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, M. Hansen was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 1 - 0. The referee showed Fluminense's S. Castellana the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. Almost all the way down to the corner flag, FFC's A. Belka somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for V. Scaratti, who struck for 1 - 1. Halftime score was 1 - 1. Fluminense claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 52 percent.

The home crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief when L. Chaves Neto was unable to put the ball in the net after his show of skill down the left 48 minutes into the match. He was seen beating the pitch in frustration at missing such a good chance to give his team the lead! FFC took the lead 61 minutes into the game, making the score 1 - 2 after some elegant movement down the middle. J. Máximo was the scorer. Given a free kick close to the byline, Fluminense tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let S. Castellana slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 2 - 2, 67 minutes into the game. After 69 minutes, FFC's T. Işılak fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! The home side put themselves ahead 3 - 2 after 70 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from M. Maleńczuk, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing. J. Cochard had a fantastic opportunity to put Fluminense up another goal 75 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar. Possession in this half belonged to FFC, who controlled the ball 52 percent of the time.

The most dominating Fluminense player was without a doubt S. Castellana. T. Quadra-Salcedo was a disappointment, however. Most important FFC player was T. Işılak. On the other hand, N. Cerdeira's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 2.