siracusa 1 - 0 Paperopoli (393970876)

The 114 spectators at aretusa sr were in for an afternoon of sunshine. Kurt Luginbuhl was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Quim Colaço and Luis Naval. siracusa had chosen a strategic 5-4-1 formation. Starters: Novokmet - Györkös, Zera, Matthijssen, Steer, Garrafa - Beuken, Pra, Potoczek, Bovolato - Di Fuccio.

A 5-3-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Paperopoli. The following players had been chosen: Miranda - Pöykkölä, Ucović, Delacour, Chagas Cruz, Brahe - Rahm, Sesar, Latour - Groener, La Barbera.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of siracusa. Paperopoli's R. Rahm was shown a yellow card after 5 minutes for slicing down an opponent. E. Steer's lack of experience almost gave Paperopoli a goal after 6 minutes, but the shot went right into the keeper's arms. There was concern in the stands when, at the 23 minute mark, Paperopoli's Ð. Ucović hit the ground hard, but he refused the attention of the trainer and rejoined his teammates on the pitch. 24 minutes into the game, siracusa had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to solid. E. Beuken of siracusa was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. It was 0 - 0 at the break. This part of the game was a standoff between the teams in terms of possession.

During the break, siracusa's coach went through the team's tactics yet again, getting them up to solid organisation. A counterattack by Paperopoli after 52 minutes could have resulted in a goal, but T. Brahe, coming in on the left, couldn't get the shot off. 53 minutes into the game, siracusa wanted to bring some new energy to their game. E. Beuken gave D. Couchy a quick hug as he left the field. As the 60 minute mark approached, the Paperopoli coach decided it was time for a substitution. M. Chagas Cruz reluctantly made way for M. Apáti-Nagy on the pitch. After 60 minutes, the Paperopoli coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving T. Brahe off the field. M. Boso took his place. 61 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a siracusa substitution. K. Galeano came on for M. Di Fuccio. They were singing the praises of E. Steer 65 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 1 - 0 to siracusa. The siracusa players could smell victory in the air. G. Bovolato wasn't in a hurry to leave the field as he was substituted for N. Moltedo after 68 minutes. siracusa claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 57 percent.

siracusa's best player was N. Moltedo. On the other hand, D. Couchy's play was disheartening. The most dominating Paperopoli player was without a doubt R. Rahm. C. Sesar turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 1 - 0.