TBILISI 4 - 1 Saxtorp (393993870)

Due to an all-day shower, 2032 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at MIST. Yoann Brun was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Willem de Hooge and Siegmar Benno. A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for TBILISI. Starters: Papko - Bieda, Chinchaladze, Yetik - Degn, Antonis, Chávez, Forte, Conde - Indacoechea, Davitadze.

Saxtorp tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. The following players had been chosen: Aspesi - Rosenen, Thörnström, Sjöén - Urbansson, Everflod, Obando, Pettersson, Pettersson - Falkstrand, Wahlbratt.

The muddy pitch made the game a gritty affair, which seemed to suit R. Chávez just fine. 12 minutes into the game, R. Sjöén almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 16 minutes into the match left Saxtorp's E. Thörnström completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. P. Rosenen received some harsh words from his coach after he acted foolishly 27 minutes into the match, probably out of lack of experience, and almost let an opponent score. TBILISI's P. Degn was dominating his wing and kept sending fine balls into the opposition's box - B. Davitadze managed to volley one of them into the net to make it 1 - 1 after 36 minutes. TBILISI took the lead 37 minutes in, as S. Yetik broke through on the left and put the 2 - 1 shot just beyond the reach of the outstretched keeper. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, I. Obando got himself booked. The manager of Saxtorp was not happy. TBILISI's B. Davitadze showed his experience, anticipating the outcome of the opponent's defensive clearance and positioning himself perfectly to volley in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box. 3 - 1. D. Indacoechea could have put TBILISI up one more, but he fired into the side netting after breaking free on the left after 44 minutes. Things were deteriorating for the away team as TBILISI scored another to make it 4 - 1 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for D. Indacoechea after 44 minutes. The players of TBILISI now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. The teams went for the halftime break at 4 - 1. TBILISI claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

P. Pettersson nearly reduced the lead 54 minutes into the game, but a splendid one-handed save by A. Papko prevented the attempt coming in from the right flank from hitting the back of the net. With the clock showing 71 minutes played, a great pass from the defensive line of Saxtorp resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by O. Wahlbratt in the centre of the opposition's penalty area, but his finish went high. 77 minutes into the game, R. Chávez had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came G. Gaprindashvili. Possession in this half belonged to Saxtorp, who controlled the ball 58 percent of the time.

B. Davitadze performed admirably for TBILISI. S. Yetik turned in a dismal performance, however. Saxtorp's top performer was clearly I. Obando. On the other hand, P. Rosenen's play was disheartening. The match ends 4 - 1.