umbecillao 3 - 4 Giovas (393999953)

Due to an all-day shower, 2494 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at la cuccia di Zico. Per-Erik Johansson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Matthieu Guilemond and Tomas Nilsson. umbecillao started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players had been chosen: Bozov - Zuccaro, di Palma, Mir - Léveillé, Young, Bauco, Chevalier, Maigut - Hyytiäinen, Salatelli.

Giovas tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. Starters: Silva Leite - Cataldi, Ribeiro - van Dal, Fridmann, Jequitinhonha, Amazonas, Prates - Botelho, Jelić, Neves Dias.

At 9 minutes played, R. di Palma came in from the right with the intention of giving umbecillao the lead, but his rocket of a shot rattled the crossbar. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 10 minutes, umbecillao tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Giovas's Y. van Dal after 31 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. A tussle 32 minutes into the match resulted in a penalty being awarded to the home team and M. Maigut put the ball into the back of the net without any difficulty. That tied the score up at 1 - 1. Giovas took the lead 33 minutes into the game, making the score 1 - 2 after some elegant movement down the middle. R. Fridmann was the scorer. umbecillao's A. Mir put his head to a well placed ball, lifted in from the left, and scored to make the score 2 - 2 with 34 minutes showing on the scoreboard clock. 2 - 2 was the score after the first half. Possession in this half belonged to umbecillao, who controlled the ball 56 percent of the time.

A. Prates knocked one home from a counterattack down the right wing, making the score 2 - 3 after 61 minutes. Some fine passing in the middle of the pitch, carving open the away defence, should have led to a goal for umbecillao, but M. Maigut's shot went over the bar. After 68 minutes, Giovas's F. Amazonas fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! Almost all the way down to the corner flag, Giovas's A. Prates somehow managed to get a perfect pass into the middle, impossible to miss for J. Neves Dias, who struck for 2 - 4. umbecillao's S. Hyytiäinen found himself alone on the left side 77 minutes into the match and laid down a perfect shot - right into the arms of the keeper! E. Cataldi's lack of experience almost gave umbecillao a goal after 82 minutes, but the shot went right into the keeper's arms. umbecillao's M. Bauco cut towards the middle after 85 minutes, receiving a brilliant pass and slicing through the visiting team's central defence, reducing the lead to 3 - 4. umbecillao had most of the ball, with 53 percent of possession.

umbecillao's top performer was clearly V. Salatelli. However, T. Bozov made a disastrous appearance. Giovas's best player was L. Jelić. E. Cataldi turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 4.