Due to an all-day shower, 768 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at
Outreach.
Verner Läf was the appointed referee with assistance provided by
Leopoldo Albanese and
Marcos Larragoiti.
Dragoons decided to use a 4-4-2 set up.
They fielded: Wood - Smith, Ragnbo, Bøgeskov, Cortejana - Winkler, McAleese, Andrews, Wasner - Castel, Gurdiş.
Guiness tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination.
Starters: Pobedonostsev - Defla, Ganichev, Silvermar, Armaos - Soares Araújo, Bremand, Korsbæk, Harman - Ferrero, Ribeiro.
Dragoons tried to focus their attacks down the middle.
19 minutes in, Dragoons's
H. Wasner received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first.
Unfortunately for Guiness,
N. Defla was injured when the game became more physical, and he had to leave the field.
C. Dueri replaced him.
The home side put themselves ahead 1 - 0 after 22 minutes courtesy of a breakthrough from
L. Castel, who scored with a stunning volley following a cross from the right wing.
A. Armaos spent most of the time in a heap on the ground today, his normally rapid movement hindered by the slippery pitch.
Dragoons had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks.
33 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as
F. Cortejana broke through, making the score 2 - 0 for Dragoons.
At this point, it was obvious that the players of Dragoons lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented.
The referee showed Dragoons's
D. Andrews the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge.
The muddy pitch made the game a gritty affair, which seemed to suit
J. Harman just fine.
With 37 minutes played, Dragoons's
C. Bøgeskov almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net.
Halftime score was 2 - 0.
Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Dragoons, with 76 percent of the ball.
Guiness needed a fresh pair of legs on the field, and after 51 minutes
F. Pobedonostsev made way for
A. Álvarez.
With 54 minutes played,
C. Bøgeskov could have brought this one home for Dragoons as he charged up on the left, but his hooked ball went just a bit too high.
Central attacks were the recipe of the day for Dragoons, as they moved the ball from the wings to the middle with startling regularity.
H. Wasner had a fantastic opportunity to put Dragoons up another goal 64 minutes into the match, but he fired just over the crossbar.
With 66 minutes played, the Guiness coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around.
D. Marcu came on,
M. Bremand had to leave the fray.
Dragoons were determined to attack in the middle, even their wing attacks ended up centrally.
Dragoons players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead.
A magnificent combination in the middle resulted in Dragoons's
L. Castel increasing the lead to 3 - 0.
Dragoons enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 76 percent of possession.
Dragoons's best player was
L. Castel.
On the other hand,
S. Smith's play was disheartening.
Most important Guiness player was
L. Ferrero.
A. Álvarez turned in a dismal performance, however.
The match ends 3 - 0.